WONDERFUL MEXICAN REVOLUTION
RELIC – 11MM MONTENEGRO REVOLVER WITH ORIGINAL HOLSTER
– DOCUMENTED AS A COLUMBUS, NEW MEXICO BATTLEFIELD
PICKUP FROM THE PONCHO VILLA RAID:
Identified as having been
recovered in 1916 as a battlefield pickup in Columbus,
New Mexico after Poncho Villa’s revolutionaries raided
and burned the town, this pistol and holster were worn
by one of the Villistas as they hit the town in the
early morning hours of March 9TH.
The prolonged revolution in Mexico which had been
festering through the first years of the 20TH
Century caused the US Army to station troops along the
border from Texas through Arizona (…go
figure…beginning to sound familiar?). In 1916, the
13Th US Cavalry Regiment was garrisoned in
southern Texas and New Mexico, with Troops A,B,C, and D
stationed in Alpine, Marfa and Valentine, Texas, and the
balance of the regiment was stationed in and around
Columbus, New Mexico located three miles north of the
border. As with all the other units so deployed, the
duties of the 13TH included patrolling the
border and establishing a presence in order to protect
United States citizens and discourage incursions across
the border by the various groups of Mexican
revolutionaries, and as it would unfold, with good
reason.
On March 9TH, Poncho Villa ordered some 500
revolutionaries to cross the border and raid Columbus,
resulting in part of the town being burned and in the
deaths of some eight soldiers and ten civilians. In
response, President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John
“Black Jack” Pershing to mount the famous Punitive
Mexican Expedition of 1916 – regarded by some as the
initiating event which led to our eventual entry into
World War One.
A considerable number of the Villistas were killed
during the assault on the town and the subsequent
pursuit into Mexico as they fled back south. The US
soldiers who pursued the Villistas for approximately
fifteen miles from the town, reported they counted some
100 bodies along the line of pursuit as they returned to
Columbus. The town doctor, Dr. Stivison later wrote,
“During the morning of the same day, we saw military
wagons gathering up the bodies of the bandits. These
were taken to the edge of town, placed in a pile,
saturated with kerosene, and burned. It was a grisly
sight but we were glad to know that these particular men
would no longer be a menace to the peace of the border.”
Another source claimed that “it was estimated that
between 175 and 200 bodies were in that grisly pile, not
including the dead horses”.
With such a heavy death toll among the raiders, it is no
surprise that a significant number of the raiders’
rifles and pistols were recovered by the Columbus
residents, but for the most part they have disappeared
in the passage of the years.
Still, knowing that so many
of the heavily armed Villistas were killed and their
arms were gathered by the town folk, supports the
identification that accompanies this pistol and
holster. The simplicity of the information written on
the attached tag is so straightforward that the set
presents as a genuine relic of the famous Columbus Raid,
and those violent days along the border.
The original collector who obtained the pistol from the
Garcia family mistakenly assumed the pistol had been
manufactured in Spain and that it was .44 caliber, but
further research provided an accurate identification.
Commonly known as a “Montenegro Pistol”, this large
frame, double action revolver design was based on the
Model 1870/74 Gasser Austro-Hungarian Cavalry Pistol,
one of the most advanced military pistols at the time of
its introduction in 1870, featuring both a double action
and chambered for a center fire cartridge.
The caliber of these
pistols, nominally 11mm and often lumped under the one
umbrella caliber of “11mm Gasser” or the “11mm
Montenegrin”, appeared in several variations, including
11.2mm x 29.5mm, 11.3mm x 36Rmm, 11.3mm x 51Rmm, 11.75mm
x 36mm "Short Montenegrin" and 11.75mm x 51mm "Long
Montenegrin". For comparison purposes, the 11.3 x 36mm
cartridge, considerably longer than a .44 Magnum, was
loaded with black powder and propelled a 310-grain
bullet at almost 900 fps – more powerful than
contemporary loadings of the .45 Colt and .44 Russian.
This pistol appears to be chambered for the 11.75mm x
36mm, an impressive cartridge in a large frame
revolver.
Wedged between the 19th Century
Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires on the west coast
of the Adriatic Sea, Montenegro is a small mountainous
country with a long history marked with threats of
invasion, wars and revolutions. The only nation to have
its name become synonymous with a particular style of
firearm, the association grew from a regal decree issued
by King Nicolas, who ruled Montenegro from 1910-1918.
Perhaps the only case in history where a national leader
ordered the general population to arm themselves with a
specific firearm, King Nicolas ordered “Every male
citizen of Montenegro is a member of the Militia, and
therefore not only justified but also obliged to possess
at least one Gasser Pattern revolver.” The
Gasser Revolver was the primary Austrian Army sidearm
from 1870-1878, and as the earlier models were replaced
by improved models, the older pistols had been sold to
Montenegro and were well received. In addition to this
foundation of familiarity with the pistol, when Nicolas
ascended to the throne and issued his requirement that
the citizenry be armed with this very same pistol, it is
believed he owned shares of stock in the Leopold Gasser
Waffenfabrik in Vienna – patent holder and sole
manufacturer of the pistol at that time. As Mel Brooks
was given to say, “Its good to be da king.”
While this enforced demand for the
Montenegrin revolvers bolstered the business of the
Austrian arms maker through the end of World War One,
their revolver was also in such demand by other nations
that Gasser was unable to meet all the orders. In
response, he licensed arms makers in Belgium, France and
Spain to produce the pistol, and eventually it was also
being produced by makers who did not enjoy the same
license agreement with Gasser but were beyond
enforcement of such fussy little details such as
patents. The quality of the revolvers produced by these
other makers varied greatly, from excellent to outright
dangerous. Deviations from the original Gasser design
included the variations in caliber as noted above, solid
and hinged frame designs, and longer and shorter
barrels, however they all seem to retain the nominal
11mm caliber, very large cylinders, and the rounded grip
reminiscent of the Mauser Model 1896 “Broom Handle”
Pistol.
Quickly becoming a status symbol
among the Montenegrin men who were known to wear the
pistols openly with their traditional garb - sometimes
more than one - the wealthier classes continued to buy
those produced by Leupold Gasser while the less costly
guns made in Belgium and Spain found a market with the
common man. As with gun makers world wide, they offered
such embellishments as ivory or bone grips, nickel
plating, and engraving.
Given the large number of Gasser
Revolvers produced by the various manufacturers – some
estimate total production was well over a quarter of a
million - it is understandable how they came to be
distributed around the world, especially to nations
involved in regional wars and revolutions. Several
sources refer to a number of shipments of Gassers which
were directed to Mexico during their Revolution,
including a specific shipment of a significant number of
pistols which were sold to Poncho Villa. Another
shipment of Gassers to Mexico is referenced – possibly
as many as 5,000 pistols – where the barrels were
exchanged for barrels bored for the .44-40 cartridge and
were so marked. A third shipment was intercepted by the
U.S. government which was destined for “South America”
and those pistols were chambered in .44 S&W Russian.
That these accounts lack specific details isn’t
surprising considering they were very likely clandestine
shipments - a common characteristic of arms sales to
revolutionaries throughout history. Certainly, the
Gasser Pistols were present among the various factions
during the Mexican Revolution, and very likely more than
a few were carried into Columbus by the Villistas.
Poncho
Villa is shown here on the left. The man in the center
is armed with what could be a Montenegro Pistol.
His large pistol features white bone or ivory grips
which can be seen above the holster and the cartridges
in his pistol belt are quite large, consistent with the
11mm cartridges.
After reviewing the proof marks
and maker’s stamps on this pistol, it is fairly certain
it was manufactured in Belgium. The left side of the
barrel boss is stamped “DASSER PATENT” – the “D” instead
of a “G” being an intentional spelling variation from
the original maker’s stamp “GASSER”, an effort to avoid
a patent infringement claim. Below the patent
information is stamped “GUSS-STAHL”, German for cast
steel, indicating the difference from the earlier Model
1870 Gassers which were made of cast iron. “Guss-Stahl”
was the specific German term referencing the Bessermer
steel process developed in the second half of the 19TH
Century. The right side of the barrel boss is stamped
with a crown surmounting a capital “R” over a capital “LG”,
all Belgian proof marks. The “R” was introduced in
Belgium in 1894 to indicate the barrel is rifled, and
the use of the same stamp was extended to rifles in
1897.
The top of the frame is stamped with a crown surmounting
the initials NI. This stamp is believed by some to be a
holdover tribute to King Nicolas, and it might well have
been an overt and shameless marketing ploy to secure
more sales in Montenegro. It is also entirely possible
that the initials may be the initials of a Belgian proof
inspector.
Given the hard use and exposure over time, this Gasser
Pistol presents as one would expect. Once nickel
plated, the plating has worn from all the exposed
surfaces and only traces remain in protected areas. The
level of wear to the finish of the pistol was likely
well established and progressed to an advanced degree
before it was recovered from the battlefield.
Conditions on the trail of the revolution were hard on
men, horses, and firearms alike. Mechanically, the
pistol still functions in both single action and double
action, and the cylinder turns as it should. While the
cylinder indexes well, the stop is worn so that after
the trigger is pulled and the hammer falls, the cylinder
is able to be turned. All of the components are present
and intact with the exception of the extractor rod. The
barrel measures 5” long with a dark bore which still
retains some rifling. If the new owner so desired, the
bore would probably brighten with some cleaning, but as
it presents, the bore is consistent with the condition
of the balance of the pistol. The two visible serial
numbers – on the cylinder and on the frame – are
matching. Both original bone grip panels are present,
showing a nice even aged patina. Both panels have the
same minor chipping at the top rear edge where they mate
with the frame. Otherwise they are full form and have a
very nice finish.
The identification tag, attached to the lanyard ring of
the pistol when I purchased it, identifies this pistol
and holster as being found on the Columbus, New Mexico
battle site in 1916 by a Mr. Garcia, and that the set
was purchased in the 1940’s from the Garcia family. The
opposite side of the tag bears the former owner’s
assumptions of the caliber and country of origin of the
pistol, and correctly describes it as being a nickel
plated double action pistol with bone grips. Simple and
concise in content and format, this sort of brief and to
the point provenance is typical of that recorded by
collectors years ago, and frankly, on pieces such as
this set, is far more compelling than the lengthy record
of notary public statements one often sees.
The holster is a perfect fit, the leather certainly
stout enough to have carried this heavy pistol handily.
The pistol pocket is full form, the seam is fully
intact, and there is a decorative border stamping around
the edge of the pocket. The leather is soft and supple,
retaining a nice aged russet color and the surface is
generally smooth with only minor crazing. There is a
brass finial on the face of the holster indicating there
was a flap or securing strap of some kind. The
supporting skirt is only partially present, and from the
way it is attached to the pocket it appears to me that
when complete, this might well have been a shoulder
holster. Were that the case, it is possible that when
this set was recovered from the battle field, in his
hurry Garcia may well have cut the shoulder straps in
order to remove it from the body of the Villista,
leaving the straps behind. From the fit of the pistol
in the holster, from all appearances this is the holster
original to the pistol.
If I had any
doubt that the tag accurately describes the provenance
of this pistol and holster, I never would have acquired
it. While there is no way to independently confirm that
this pistol and holster were recovered from the scene of
the Columbus Raid, likely from the body of one of slain
Villistas, the type of pistol, the overall condition,
and the simplicity of the identification tag all lead me
to accept this set just as it presents – a very
interesting and relatively scarce relic of one of the
smaller, yet key events in the history of the United
States as it emerged into a world power from the
isolation of the 19TH Century on to the world
stage of the 20Th Century.
SOLD
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