This historic revolver is a rare Lot Six Colt Single Action Army in Cavalry Model configuration identified in the included documentation as used by Captain Myles Moylan, commander of Company A of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn. It was manufactured under contract with the U.S. Ordnance Department in 1874 and sub-inspected by Orville W. Ainsworth. It is from one of the prime lots issued to the famous 7th Cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. A total of 921 Colts were shipped to the 7th Cavalry from the Rock Island Arsenal in 1874. Of those, approximately 300 were from Lot Six. The table on page 252 of "Colt Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers. . .a Continuing Study" by Kopec and Fenn indicates the "Prime Serial Number Range" of 5505-6516 for the revolvers issued to Companies D and I. These companies received eighty-three revolvers each later than the rest of the 7th Cavalry as they were on detached service at Fort Totten under Major Reno's command with the Northern Boundary Survey. Serial numbers 5505, 5637, 5740, 5743, 6048, 6067, and 6269 from Lot Six all have documented or attributed 7th Cavalry history per Kopec and Fenn. The revolver features a blade front sight, the one-line barrel address with die breaks in the "o" in "Co." and the "A" in "HARTFORD," "P" and "A" on the bottom of the barrel and side of the cylinder, "A" on the trigger guard and top of the back strap, the two-line patent marking followed by "U.S." on the left side of the frame, "C" in the hammer well between the notch rear sight and firing pin hole, assembly number "202" on the loading gate, and the matching serial number "6055" on the barrel, cylinder, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The grip has an outline of a cartouche on the left and faint markings on the right. The revolver is accompanied by letters from noted Colt Single Action Army historian and author John A. Kopec, including a letter from 2023 in which he indicates that he believes this revolver was Captain Moylan's of the 7th Cavalry and notes documentation attributing serial number 6055 to Captain Moylan and as part of Captain Benteen's collection. Kopec indicates that he had previously examined this revolver (1970s letters from Kopec and Moore to Dr. William Leo included) but that during his recent examination he found that the grips have "A pair of crossed sabers, with a partial initial 'M' at either side of these crossed sabers. The first letter 'M' is only represented to be the obscure upper portion, while the second initial 'M' is missing its entire right area. It is our belief, that these are truly the initials of Capt. Myles Moylan. The grip marking should however be forensically examined to verify and confirm Kopec's findings." He had missed this marking before but found them under additional illumination and careful study during his recent examination. In additional analysis, he notes that the revolver's serial number markings are legitimate and that the serial number remaining partially exposed at the edge of the ejector housing is a characteristic found on some other revolvers in this range and that "the grip shows the 'pointed grip-spacer.' This pointed grip-spacer was used by Colt's up into the 10,000 serial range." He also notes that a small hole was drilled into this spacer for unknown reasons, the muzzle was modified, and the hammer roller-pin was broken in half (something he had never seen before). The revolver's history is also discussed in the accompanying letter from William Leo Jr. stating he had inherited this revolver upon the death of his father, Dr. William Leo Sr. (1922-1995), and that it had been his father's prized possession. Dr. Leo was a veteran of the U.S. Army in the Pacific during World War II and returned and completed medical school and became a gun collector and the president of the Missouri Valley Arms Collector Association. He purchased this revolver in 1965. The discovery of the back strap of revolver 6048 at the Little Bighorn battlefield in 1985 solidified Dr. Leo's belief that this revolver was truly special. Then, in 2012, a revolver renumbered 6055 turned up at auction. In a April 4, 2012, letter, Kopec writes: "Amoskeag Auctions: Gentlemen: Regarding Lot #101, March 24, 2012 Catalog- Please do not pay the Consignee as this revolver #6055 is a total fake!" While that revolver was faked, it was accompanied by documentation that Kopec in subsequent letters states was "totally legitimate." Copies of that documentation are included. Kopec logically concluded that the fake had been created to match the documentation and also indicated that he suspected 13801 from the same sale and identified in the documentation as owned by Tom Custer was also fabricated to match the legitimate documentation. The main piece of period documentation is a copy of a letter from "Ruth B." dated June 15, 1887, to "Capt. J.W. Dimmick/Clerk U.S. Courts/Montgomery/Ala." discussing Captain Benteen's collection and it being loaned to Dimmick for an Indian Wars display at his bank. The letter notes that she had run "into our old friend Major Benteen" and discusses him potentially retiring from the Army and moving to Atlanta and also notes that she believed "the bottle has gotten the best of him." She notes that his collection included "war bonnets, clubs, shields, spears, muskets and pistols" all with identified owners and that "The Colt revolver number 6055 belonged to Myles Moylan. Recall him?...and #13801 is the one that belonged to Tom Custer and is yours to keep!! He said it was re-captured at the Slim Buttes fight." Slim Buttes was the first U.S. victory following the Battle of Little Bighorn. Ruth's identity is not clear, but Joseph W. Dimmick was a veteran of the Civil War and was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Montgomery and clerk of the U.S. Circuit Court. After this documentation surfaced in 2012, Kopec reached back out to Leo Jr. to discuss his revolver given the new information (discussed in another included letter) and wanted to purchase it, but the family was not yet ready to let it go; now they finally are after almost 60 years. The serial number attribution to Moylan and comments of the revolver having Moylan's initials are also discussed in "History Corner: Custer's Last Stand and the Alabama Connection" by Jerry L. Fortner which also indicates that 13801 later turned up in the wall of a house in Selma, Alabama, and was found when the house was being torn down. Captain Myles Moylan (1838-1909) was a career U.S. Cavalry officer starting out in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons in 1857, through the Civil War (including service in the 5th U.S. Cavalry with Custer and at Gettysburg), and on through the Indian Wars of the 1860s through the early 1890s in the famous 7th U.S. Cavalry led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. He was married to Charlotte Calhoun, sister of fellow 7th Cavalry Officer James Calhoun, Custer's brother-in-law. He was dismissed for being absent without leave in Washington, D.C., but soon re-enlisted in the volunteers under another name. After the war, he re-enlisted in the U.S. Army, Custer personally helped him get a commission as an officer in the 7th Cavalry, and he served as the adjutant. Prior to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Moylan fought at the Washita Massacre during the campaign against Black Kettle and the Southern Cheyenne. By the time of the 1876 Campaign, Moylan was a battle-hardened veteran with extensive experience and was the captain of Company A of the 7th Cavalry. During the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25-26th, 1876, Moylan's company was part of the Major Marcus Reno's battalion of around 140 men that conducted the first and only real attack on the combined Native American village while Custer led his battalion of around 210 to the right flank, and Benteen's battalion of around 125 men swept to the far left. Another 130 men were with the pack train. The battalions were all out of sight from one another and unable to provide assistance as their attack began, and years later Moylan was quoted questioning Custer's decision to divide his forces. Reno led his men in a charge toward the village. He reported they drove "the Indians with great ease for about two and a half miles" before nearing the village and forming a skirmish line. It must have been quite a shock for Moylan and Company A as they formed up as the center part of the line and fired the initial volleys into the massive village and quickly realized they were tremendously outnumbered and faced by determined warriors. While Custer had been warned there might be a considerable village, they had substantially underestimated their adversaries both in terms of their overall strength in numbers and willingness to fight. Reno reported that they had believed the village was fleeing when they began the attack. The combined village according to the National Park Service was around 8,000 people, including a force of around 1,500-1,800 warriors. Reno in his official report noted: "I could not see Custer or any other support, and at the same time the very earth seemed to grow Indians, and they were running toward me in swarms, and from all directions. I saw I must defend myself and give up the attack mounted." After firing from long range for 15-20 minutes, Reno called for a withdrawal into the woods as the native warriors closed in for the counter-attack hitting the detachment from multiple sides. In the woods, his men again dismounted to fight, but with Reno estimating they were outnumbered five to one, he soon called on them to mount and charge through the warriors to the bluffs on the other side of the river. As the men "charged" in retreat towards the high ground across the Little Bighorn River, they left some of their men behind. During the Reno Court of Inquiry into the battle discussed in "Close-Order Combat at the Battle of the Little Big Horn: The Use of the Model 1873 Colt Revolver" by Albert Winkler, Moylan confirmed that the cavalrymen under the circumstances were at their own discretion as when to fire their revolvers, that they couldn't be readily reloaded while riding, and that his company lost formation as it took heavy casualties in the fight in the valley, stating: "I found the rear of my company was very much broken up, as the shooting into it was very severe." Others noted that the native warriors would ride up to within 50 to 100 yards and empty their Winchester rifles into the columns and additional warriors rode in even closer to attack. Unsupported, they began to take significant casualties, including around thirty-five killed. Moylan and his surviving men from Company A followed Reno to the high ground where they were reinforced by Benteen's battalion and dug defensive positions on what is now known as Reno Hill. Benteen had received a message from Custer's battalion reading: "Come on. Big Village. Be quick. Bring Packs. P.S. Bring Packs." The men would have each originally carried 24 cartridges for their revolvers and 100 rounds of ammunition for their Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbines when the battle began, certainly not enough ammo for a prolonged engagement against overwhelming numbers. While the Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbines were the primary weapons of the cavalry, a significant portion of the fighting during the Battle of Little Bighorn was done with revolvers which could be fired multiple times before reloading. Chief Gall and Horned Horse recounted that many of the warriors killed in the fighting against Custer's isolated detachments were shot by Custer's men with revolvers during their last attacks in part because many of Custer's men had lost their extra rifle ammo when they lost their horses and also because some of their carbines became jammed. Since the pack train hadn't arrived yet and he had lost a considerable number of his men, Reno determined they should regroup and wait for the pack train before pressing on but allowed a smaller detachment under the leadership of Captain Weir to try to locate their commander. By the time some of Reno and Benteen's men went back on the initiative, Custer and his battalion may have all already been killed. From Weir Point, some of the troopers may have seen the final moments off in the distance on Last Stand Hill, and soon the warriors concentrated their attacks on the remainder of the 7th Cavalry, forcing Reno to retreat back to the high ground at Reno Hill. During the fighting there, Moylan noted, "I saw a dead Indian very close to [Benteen's] line...They came up there within 15 or 20 yards. There were a considerable many of them. There was a sufficient number of them to warrant their attempting to turn that end of the line." The Cavalry Model Single Action Army Revolvers were used in a counter attack by Benteen and Reno's men to keep the warriors from closing in on their lines. The fighting continued on into the next day until the Native Americans escaped, and it was only after General Terry's column arrived on the scene on June 27th that Custer's fate was discovered. Moylan survived the battle and continued on in his career. The 7th Cavalry was assigned new men to replace the 242 troopers and 16 officers killed in the battle along with those too severely wounded to return to active duty. The 7th continued to serve in the West in the Terry Expedition, and Moylan as captain of Company A subsequently fought at the Battle of Bear Paw during the Nez Perce War in 1877 for which he received the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation reads: "Captain Moylan gallantly led his command in action against the Nez Perce Indians until he was severely wounded." His wound was a gunshot through the right thigh that put him out of action, but he recovered and continued on and was still in charge of Company A at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 where Moylan and some of his men were aiding Captain Varnum's men in carrying away the confiscated weapons when the gunfire broke out, and he lost four of his men and attributed their loss to fire from the warriors. Some newspaper accounts incorrectly listed him as mortally wounded in the mayhem. He was later promoted to major and retired in 1893 after more than three decades of service and moved to San Diego, California, where his historic home still stands. He died there in 1909. His obituaries noted him as an Indian fighter and veteran of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Based on the June 15, 1887, letter noted above, this revolver was already noted as owned by Captain Frederick W. Benteen and identified as having belonged to Moylan. Benteen has remained a controversial figure for not reinforcing Custer, but he was remembered by his men fondly. Scout George Herendeen, for example, wrote "Benteen is one of the bravest men I ever saw in a fight." In contrast, Benteen's writings indicate Moylan was an unpopular officer, but he did not make it clear why although he claimed Moylan was "blubbering like a whipped urchin" when Benteen and his men came to reinforce Reno's men after they were battered in the initial counter attacks. Like Moylan, Benteen also fought during the Nez Perce campaign in 1877. He was promoted to a major in the 9th U.S. Cavalry. In 1886, Benteen and several other officers who served in the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn were sent to Fort Custer for the 10th anniversary of the disastrous battle before returning to duty trying to maintain peace with the Utes in Utah. He was suspended for 1 1/2 years on half-pay on April 20, 1887, for drunkenness thus would have been on suspension when the letter was written as alluded to in the letter by the comment "I believe the bottle has gotten the best of him." He was also actively seeking retirement and was retired for disability the following summer on July 7. As noted in the letter, Benteen did eventually settle in Atlanta in his retirement. His father had previously lived near Atlanta until his death in 1885, and Major Benteen's youngest child, Frederick Wilson Benteen Jr., was born in Atlanta in 1873. In retirement, he took an active interest in historical writings about the Battle of Little Bighorn and influenced the early historiography.

Very good with most of the period refinished blue remaining, dark gray patina on the frame and hammer, work at the muzzle, broken hammer roller-pin, some faint oxidation and pitting, and generally mild overall wear. The lightly sanded and re-oiled grip is good and has faint markings, minor scratches and dings, and chips at the toe. Mechanically fine. This is an incredible chance to get your hands on an historic Lot Six Cavalry Model identified as carried by Captain Myles Moylan of the 7th Cavalry!