Percussion Under Hammer Pistol Made by Samuel Sutherland of Richmond, Va. – This .36 cal., heavy octagonal barrel, single shot, percussion under hammer pistol was made by Samuel Sutherland, an established gunsmith and dealer in Richmond, Va. On the underside of the barrel, die-stamped, in individual letters, in a single line, is the following:

“S. SUTHERLAND   RICHMOND, VA”

Sutherland had established a gunsmithing and firearms’ production business, in Richmond, in the 1840s. During the Civil War, he repaired and altered guns for the state of Virginia and the Confederate government. This pistol would have been made at Sutherland’s shop, sometime just prior to the start of the Civil War. The barrel, completely octagonal in configuration, is rifled and has no provision for a ramrod. At the end of the barrel, beside the muzzle opening, is the number “132”; besides Sutherland’s marking on the barrel’s underside, there are no additional maker’s marks on the gun. The club shaped, walnut grips each have a carved depiction of an ANV battle flag. The pistol still functions and remains in overall good condition. It is possible that Sutherland, seeing a marketing opportunity with the war’s onset and the flood of young, Confederate soldiers entering the city of Richmond, created this pistol as a boot pistol, utilizing the barrel of a period hunting rifle. Sutherland, at the age of 51, enlisted in Co. G of the 3^rd Va. Reserve Infantry, in the late summer of 1864; this regiment was a home guard unit that never saw any combat.

Samuel Sutherland had established his business many years prior to the onset of the Civil War. An advertisement in the Richmond Daily Dispatch edition of September 25, 1854, relates the following information for Sutherland’s business, indicating its address at 134 Main St.:

“GUNS – A very large number of GUNS … of every variety

and length and calibre, of style of mounting and finish,

of his own importation and manufacture, always in his

show cases and offered at prices as cheap as any

house in New York …”

Additionally, the Richmond Daily Dispatch, in its December 4, 1860 edition has another ad that indicates the Sutherland firm as:

“S. SUTHERLAND , 132 MAIN STREET, RICHMOND, VA., MANUFACTURER

AND IMPORTER OF FIRE-ARMS … Constantly on hand MUSKETS and FLINTS, GUNS

PISTOLS and BELTS, RIFLES AND SLINGS. POWDER and BALLS, CAPS and PORIMERS,

SWORDS and BELTS, SASHES, DRUMS and FIFES, CANTEENS, GAUNTLETS, and &c.”

Samuel Sutherland appears as an arms dealer around 1845, as indicated in Ellyson’s Richmond Directory of 1845-46 as:

“… Manufacturer of FIRE-ARMS … Percussion Fowling Pieces … Barrels,

London Proved And every article used, equal in respects to London make.’

From 1852 – 1855, Sutherland’s business is listed as located at 132 Main Street and at 1406 E. Main and 609 E. Broad by 1869. In 1860, Sutherland appears in the census, at 132 Main St. in Richmond, as a gun maker, age 47, born in New York. Sutherland would continue in business in Richmond, until 1877-78; the business would continue into the early 20^th century under the direction of Sutherland’s sons.

According to respected Confederate arms expert, William Albaugh, Samuel Sutherland was known as the “Armorer of the South”; his shop in Richmond operated under the trade name “Southern Importing House”. During the Civil War Sutherland operated a large plant chiefly devoted to alteration of flintlocks and reclamation of arms damaged in the Confederate service. Sutherland, as mentioned, did manufacture firearms, import and repair them. With the onset of the Civil War, he engaged with the Confederate government to repair military firearms, to augment that process as the South had markedly fewer large government armories than the North. Additional research indicates that Sutherland manufactured percussion under hammer pistols, during Civil War. The South would ultimately rely heavily upon the work of local gunsmiths, like Sutherland.

Samuel Sutherland

in the 1860 United States Federal Census

Samuel Sutherland

Residence was not listed.
Enlisted as a Priv(date unknown).

He mustered into “E” Co. Virginia 1st Reserves Infantry.

Samuel Sutherland

Birth

May 1813

Newburgh, Orange County, New York, USA

Death

Jun 1877 (aged 64)

Virginia, USA

Burial

Hollywood Cemetery

Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia