If you are not familier with this incident, here is the basics.On Jan. 30, 1835 President Andrew Jackson was attending the funeral of Congressman Warren Davis. As he was leaving the service a mentally insane English immigrant named Richard Lawrence tried to fire two pistols at Jackson. The percussion caps went off but both pistols misfired. There was a pile up to tackle the assassin and the pistols were recovered. Lawrence was put on trial and found "not guilty by reason of insanity". The pistols were unloaded during the trial, disassembled and examined by a gunsmith and test fired. Both worked fine. Now the story is that the guns were put in the Smithsonian. But I've sent a number of e-mails and letters to them asking about the guns. They won't confirm or deny having them. So my question to YOU is this: HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN THESE PISTOLS OR KNOW OF THEIR WHEREABOUTS ? HAS ANYONE SEEN PHOTOS OF THESE GUNS ? MAYBE SOMEONE HAS SEEN A MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT THE GUNS ? I heard one rumor that the guns went into the scrap metal drives in WW2. Here is what I can confirm about them. Brass barrels 6" long approx. .41 caliber. Muzzleloaders NOT SCREW BARREL as many have claimed. Converted from flintlock by Washington DC area gunsmith John Davis Boteler. The pistols were left to Lawrence when the father died. They were not a matched set. Lawrence would trade one pistol for another that DID MATCH (probably in caliber) It's possible these were fairly cheaply made box locks with the barrel and frame in one piece. Belgian origin perhaps ? At any rate if anyone can help I would appreciate it. This is going towards a possible book.
