Creation Date

1869 – 1907

Description

Pistol - reportedly found by Ben (Noel Benjamin) Grindy in 1907 near Grove Lake in the "Lost Regiment Swamp / Lost Battalion Swamp" and once considered proof that Civil War soldiers were lost and later buried there. This gun was manufactured in 1869, after the American Civil War. It may have been lost by travelers who used the Ox Cart Trail. The makers mark on one side reads "OVIEDO 1869" the other side has a serial number N6947. Since it was made in 1869, I was not lost in the swamp in 1862 as the legend says. I have found no documentation about who donated it or when. There is only a photo from the Sauk Centre Harold in 2003 of Chris Swartz (museum maintenence worker) pointing at the gun and stating that Al Krapes found it in 1869. This is also not possible, since Al Krapes was born in 1882. In 2010, I contacted his 100 year old daughter Violet Peper Abraham who recalled that ther father told her it (and the knife) were cound in the bog where the soldiers were reportedly lost.

It is a large frame Spanish military Lefaucheux type pinfire revolver. This model was manufactured exclusively for the Spanish Army. Made by the State Factory in Oviedo in 1869, as indicated by markings on the right side of the frame. The revolver loosely follows the French M.1858, except for a shape of the grip and Belgian-style frame. Open top design. Single action. Six rounds cylinder. This revolver has a characteristic square shape of the upper part of the grip. Plain hardwood grips. Complete with the lanyard ring. The revolver had seen a service with Spanish continental army until 1888, and with Spanish colonial forces until the turn of the century. Many revolvers of this type were captured during the Spanish American War in Cuba and Philippines.