This .42 caliber LeMat revolver has a nine-chambered
cylinder and weighs about four pounds. What makes
this revolver unique is the addition of a second
smoothbore barrel, of approximately .63 caliber,
underneath the barrel. This larger barrel was designed
to fire buckshot. The top of the hammer was fitted
with a pivoting striker that could be rotated to
fire the .42 caliber rounds or changed to fire the
lower, larger barrel.
This percussion revolver was designed by Dr.
Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat, of New Orleans.
LeMat was assisted in this enterprise by P. G.
T. Beauregard, one of the Confederacy’s well known
generals. These revolvers were manufactured from
1856 to 1865, with less than 2,900 being produced.
They were made in Paris, France, and Birmingham,
England. Many were purchased by the Confederacy
and used by such famous high-ranking Confederate
officers as J. E. B. Stuart.
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