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MODEL 1842 PERCUSSION PISTOL – H. ASTON, dtd 1847
– MODIFIED BY A FRONTIER GUNSMITH:
Manufactured by Henry Aston
of Middlebury, Connecticut in 1847, this Model 1842
Pistol was produced early enough to have been carried
during the Mexican War and the subsequent modification
and wear in displays strongly suggest this pistol was a
personal favorite of
a trapper,
settler or Indian on the
American Western Frontier.
Whether to make the pistol more handy to carry by
reducing its length and weight, or due to a damaged
muzzle due to firing an improperly loaded charge, the
barrel was shortened
from the original 8 ˝” to 5
3/8” in length, which also resulted in eliminating the
captured iron ramrod and swivel assembly.
The shortening of the barrel was well done, being square
to the axis of the bore, however upon close examination
there are several indications that the barrel was cut
using a method known to have been used by Indians, as
well as frontiersmen with limited access to tools, and
that has been noted on a number of surviving frontier
associated firearms. That is, by using the edge of a
flat file, or a triangular file, to make repeated
strokes on a line perpendicular to the axis of the
barrel, turning the barrel slightly after each pass of
the file. This manner of cutting the barrel resulted in
a beveled groove rather than the flat cut that would be
left by a saw blade. In some cases, particularly on
heavy walled barrels, the groove would be cut down
through the wall of the barrel all the way around the
barrel’s surface to a point more than that half the
thickness of the barrel wall. Then the barrel was
wedged in a space such as a tight fork of a tree or a
crevasse in a rock and the remaining metal broken by
applying sufficient pressure, thus saving the time
necessary to complete the cut with the file. Once
broken off, the remaining roughness could be smoothed
off (or not) as the owner decided was necessary.
Barrels cut in this manner have a visible bevel to the
muzzle of the barrel and upon close examination, show
spots where the metal immediately around the bore has
been “torn” out rather than cut – a result of breaking
the last thickness of metal. The muzzle of this pistol
still retains file marks, shows the bevel rather than
having a square profile, and the edge of the bore shows
several spots where the metal was torn out rather than
cut, leading me to believe this barrel was cut in the
manner described above.
In addition to shortening the barrel, front and rear
sights were added. A simple fixed iron single leaf
buckhorn rear sight was inlet into the barrel tang
behind the tang screw. The front sight, or to be more
accurate - sights, represent considerably more
effort as the owner attempted to perfect the pistol’s
aim. In what appears to have been a progressive
process, first, a copper front sight was inlet into the
barrel just behind the muzzle. When that did not
perform adequately (looks to have been too high), the
copper sight was filed off flush and superseded by a
silver sight inlet into the top of the brass barrel
band. This too, proved to be a failure and was filed
off and replaced by a small albeit bright, silver sight
inlet into the rear edge of the same brass barrel band
(see arrow in photograph below). This third, silver
sight inlet into the edge of the barrel band is not
readily apparent until you sight down the barrel over
the rear sight. It is only then that the bright silver
sight contrasts with the notch in the rear sight and
provides a natural sight picture, and the barrel appears
to level in accurately on the target. All of these
sights were installed with certain degree of skill and a
developed understanding of gunsmithing, and all of them
contribute significantly to the overall flavor of this
historic piece.
The iron metal surfaces to include the lock plate,
hammer, barrel, and screws all have an even aged patina
with light scattered pitting as is to be expected. In
spite of the aged surface of the metal, the stampings on
the lock plate - “US; H. ASTON” forward of the hammer;
and “MIDDTN; CONN;
1847” behind the hammer – and the stampings on the
barrel – “US; JH; P” - are all still present and
legible. The .54 caliber bore is dark and worn, with
only traces of the rifling present – further evidence of
the pistol’s hard use. The lock is strong and tight
with no play, and the lock and trigger have a crisp
action. The brass barrel band, side plate, butt cap
and back strap, and trigger guard have a nice aged,
unpolished pleasing patina. The brass side plate and
back strap both retain the Ordnance Department
inspector’s stamps, The stock is full form and while
showing the expected signs of wear, is in overall very
good condition with a rich aged patina and is very sound
with no cracks, splits or other damage. The left flat
of the stock has the vestige of a cartouche, but it is
no longer legible.
The ramrod appears to be a
later replacement, but is in keeping with the style of
rod one would expect to find in such a pistol.
In a class by itself, and certainly a one-of-a-kind
example, this Model 1842 Pistol exhibits
modifications and use far
beyond the commonly encountered straight military issue
specimens, and as such is infinitely more interesting
and evocative of the American West. Beginning as one of
the primary percussion pistols issued to the Dragoons
during the Mexican War, this piece continued to serve
someone well on the far reaches of the frontier. $1575
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