July 19th 2014 Firearm Sale
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2014
Colt Walker Dragoons (Third Model) with consecutive serial nos. 15601 and 15602 which were ordered/purchased ca. 1856-1857 from Colt Manufacturing by Lambert B. Wolfe. Family history has Wolfe living near Hanover, Pennsylvania at the time of the purchase, but relocating to Ohio in 1860. During the Civil War, Lambert Wolfe served as a Captain in the 142nd Ohio Infantry Regiment, a 100 day service regiment formed to assist with Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign to take the Confederate capital of Richmond. Mustered in May 1864, Captain Wolfe served first in the Martinsburg, West Virginia area then moved to the defenses of Washington, D.C. The 142nd Ohio was attached to the 22nd Army Corps, DeRussy's Division, 2nd Brigade guarding supply trains through the battle of the Wilderness through to the battle of Cold Harbor with the regiment being mustered out in September 1864. While there is no mention in family history of his having carried one or both of these pistols as his personal sidearm while serving with the 142nd Ohio it is highly likely given that officers provided their own sidearms.John Hollenbeck, the grandson of Lambert Wolfe, received these pistols after his grandfather moved to Kansas. John Hollenbeck was born in Ness County, Kansas in 1889 after his parents, John Casper and Sarah Emma Hollenbeck, moved there from Iowa. John Hollenbeck's daughter was born in Ellsworth, Kansas in 1921 and is the mother of the descendent, Stephen Gaylord, who then acquired the matched Colt Dragoons. Steven Mull, the most recent descendent, acquired these Colts from his distant relative, Stephen Gaylord.To find these rare Colt pistols in such nice condition and with consecutive serial numbers is a most unusual and highly prized set which should not be passed up by any Colt or American Civil War collector! These pistols have been passed down for some 150 years from one generation to the next through the Wolfe family and now you have the opportunity to possess these unique pieces of American history!All metal surfaces have been cleaned, yet retain clear Colt markings. Address and serial number markings are strong and clean. Guns are both solid and lock up tightly. Cylinders move smoothly and actions are crisp. Cylinder scene is somewhat faint though images can still be seen. Both pistols have all matching serial numbers. Both show typical black powder wear and the rifling is prominent.