GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
FINE 1ST MODEL GRISWOLD REVOLVER FROM ESTATE OF CAPTAIN JOHN MORTON, N.B. FORREST'S CHIEF OF ARTILLERY. GRISWOLD NAVY 974 36 Cal. 36. This is an honest, well used Confederate 1st model Griswold that came from John W. Morton's estate. John Watson Morton (1842-1914) Chief of Forrest's Artillery, CSA. In 1861 John Morton was a student at the Western Military Institute in Nashville. After a short stint in the infantry, Morton joined the artillery. He was captured at Fort Donelson in 1862 and was held as a POW for several months before being exchanged. He joined Forrest's command at Columbia, Tennessee and took command of his artillery. He was wounded at Parker's Crossroads and at Thompson's Station, Chickamauga, Brice's Crossroads, Johnsonville and numerous other engagements he led his command with distinction. He was paroled at Gainesville, Alabama on May 10, 1865. After the war he returned to school to study medicine and was valedictorian of his class at the University of Tennessee. His postwar career included medicine, farming, journalism and politics, 1901-1909 was secretary of state for the State of Tennessee. He had the honor of being the first President of the Tennessee Division, United Confederate Veterans and was very involved with Confederate veteran organizations. His memoirs, "The Artillery of Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry" were published in 1909. In the last years of his life Capt. Morton lived with his daughter in Memphis and when he passed away was escorted by many prominent Memphis Confederate Veterans to his final resting place at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, TN where so many other prominent Confederates are buried. When Morton's estate was sold in the house sale of Anne Morton Stout in 1982, many associated items were sold and dispersed with the late Mike Miner assembling most of his material, including sword, uniform and battery flag along with many photographs and reunion memorabilia. Miner always tried to buy this revolver and the gold portrait lockets being sold in the next lot. Revolver comes with notarized letter stating provenance from estate and a copy of March-April 1992 North South Trader's Civil War telling the story of the Morton estate. PROVENANCE: John W. Morton; Morton family descendants; Anne Morton Stout Estate; David H. Wilson, 1982; The Confederate and Civil War estate collection of Fred Donaldson, 1998. CONDITION: Good to very good overall. Gun appears all matching and orig with exception of 3 replaced screws. Iron is overall dark with pitting. Brass has been cleaned and now exhibits a medium mustard patina. Grips are sound with small putty repair where abutting frame. Grips have gap at backstrap, but are orig though no discernible penciled number can be seen, hand worn patina with tacking marks. Bbl has added brass blade front sight which appears contemporary to time of use. SN "974" found on bbl, cylinder and frame, secondary number "74" found on loading arm, hammer, trigger, backstrap and trigger guard. Roman numeral "IIIV" found on backstrap and trigger guard. Cryptic "U" is found on back of cylinder, bottom of bbl near latch, frame, trigger guard and backstrap. Mainspring is replaced, but mainspring screw appears orig. The wedge is unusual in that it appears orig, though originally a spring type (note orig spring wedges have been excavated at Griswoldville). The wedge is numbered "647", the "6" is actually an upside down Griswold "9". Normally wedges only had a secondary number, this is an anomaly which could be original. Mechanically gun functions, although sloppy with well defined rifled bore. 52430-6 JS (25,000-30,000)