Southern Mountain Pistol

[gibster]

Iron mounted southern pistol that I think was made in E. Tennessee or maybe W North Carolina.  But I'm leaning towards E. Tennessee. No markings on the barrel.  The name E. GREEN is carved in the butt of the pistol.  It looks though like someone in the past tried to enhance the name, so depending on how you hold it, it could read E. GEEEN.  But there is an R under the first E.  Anyway, there was an Elisha Green that is listed as a gunsmith in Polk County Tennessee in 1860 according to Jerry Nobels 1st volume.  The name could be a previous owner as well and at this point, I don't think that there is any way to know for sure. The barrel is about 9 1/2-inches long and looks to be about a .36 or .38 caliber. The front sight blade is missing. I've heard that silver was removed from guns during the depression, but no idea if that was the case here or if it was knocked off at some point.  The iron trigger guard was broken as some point and repaired. The forward thimble is brass and there is no entry thimble. Let me know your thoughts on where you think this one may have been made. Doesn't really matter to me one way or the other as it is what it is and it's found a home.

[redheart]

It appears that someone blew up their rifle and decided to make the best use of what was left. 

[gibster]

Ha. That's a good one Redheart.  We will never know if it's what's left of a blown up rifle or not. But I do know that I have seen a number of southern pistols with similar architecture so unless there was a rash of rifles blowing up, I have my doubts that that's the case. Saw a nice one at the Alabama show the other week with a back action lock. And believe me, the owner was a serious collector who isn't likely to have a pieced together something in his collection.  I'll admit that it may not be "pretty" like pistols made in Pennsylvania and some other areas. But they are functional, sturdy and will do the job when needed.  Have to admit though, I did get a chuckle out of your reply.

[Sequatchie Rifle]

I have a couple of Elisha Green rifles, but haven’t seen a pistol by him. Makes sense he would have made pistols too. I think it was made by him. See his signature below.

[redheart]

Ha. That's a good one Redheart.  We will never know if it's what's left of a blown up rifle or not. But I do know that I have seen a number of southern pistols with similar architecture so unless there was a rash of rifles blowing up, I have my doubts that that's the case. Saw a nice one at the Alabama show the other week with a back action lock. And believe me, the owner was a serious collector who isn't likely to have a pieced together something in his collection.  I'll admit that it may not be "pretty" like pistols made in Pennsylvania and some other areas. But they are functional, sturdy and will do the job when needed.  Have to admit though, I did get a chuckle out of your reply.

Hey Gibster,
Thanks for being a great sport about my "tongue in cheek" comment.
I was just tryin to "get your goat"
In reality I love the pistol and thank you kindly for sharing it.
You can't beat it for simplistic beauty. I'd like to see more of these "Mountain Pistols".
P.S. Is the lock maker marked?

[gibster]

Bill - I think you are right now that I see the stamps that he used to sign his rifles.  Good info to know.  Going to save that picture to my file on this pistol.

Redheart - Trust me, I didn't take offense to your comments.  Beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder, especially when it comes to things like this.  And who knows, the barrel and lock very well may have come from a rifle that had a barrel failure.  I'm sure that happened from time to time.  The lock is a Goulcher lock.

[redheart]

Thanks a bunch Gibster,
I thought it might be a Goulcher lock. Hey, is that barrel swamped or does it just sit high in the stock?
Heck, that pistol could have been carried in the War of Northern Aggression.

[gibster]

The barrel isn't swamped.  According to the previous owner, the pistol came out of a family in West Virginia. Oral history that came with it says that it was carried in the war of northern aggression.  It seems that the thing with oral history on old guns is that they were all carried in some war, somewhere, even if they were made after the war. Really no way to know one way or the other on something like this.   There was an iron mounted rifle and a banded powder horn that came out of the family with the pistol, but I haven't seen either. I've been trying to get them to send me pictures of them but haven't had any luck. 

[redheart]

Thanks Gibster,
Looks like a mid to late 1840's Goulcher lock to me, so it had plenty of time to be in that war. I read that they introduced back action Goulcher locks around 1835.
I'm tempted build one. It'd be perfect for an old ridge runner like me. I'd sure love to see more photos of these backwoods pistols.
Can you send a photo of the muzzle end?