Birth of a Breed
The Paterson revolver breaks the trail for future legendary Colts.
By: Phil Spangenberger 09/01/2008
Just like this historic battle helped rally support for establishing Texas as a republic, the revolving pistol Colt patented would also prove fruitful in helping Texas win its independence and statehood. Colonel Sam Colt’s first revolver—the handgun that would pave the way for future six-guns—was actually a five-shooter. That’s right, the five-shot revolver that had so much influence on the shape of things to come not only changed the design of six-shooters for all time but also played an important part in the settling of America’s vast frontiers.
Gone to Texas
Armed with Paterson Colts, bowie knives and a short rifle, famed frontiersman Col. John Coffee “Jack” Hays and a patrol of 14 mounted Texas Rangers found themselves attacked by a band of 80 Comanche warriors. They were 80 miles from San Antonio, near the Pedernales River. Although greatly outnumbered, the Rangers countercharged the Indians with their nine-inch barreled holster pistols blazing away. During the ensuing running battle, the Rangers left close to half of the hostiles on the field dead or dying.
This 1844 battle ranks as a milestone in Indian fighting in the West for up until that time, only single-shot, muzzle-loading arms—suitable for fighting on the ground, such as in the Eastern woodlands—had been available. Such guns were slow to load, and the Indians had adopted tactics of rushing their opponents between shots while the Texans were busy trying to reload. Although the Rangers had adopted the practice of firing in platoons, so that a few men would always be ready with loaded weapons in the event of a rush, the Paterson’s five-shot capabilities allowed for a couple of men to keep revolvers full and ready in order to keep the enemy at bay while those who had expended their ammunition reloaded their guns. Furthermore, these lightweight, repeating pistols now made it possible for the Texans to completely change their tactics and fight from horseback, turning them into a guerrilla-type strike force, much like the Indians themselves—something they had not been able to do with their cumbersome single-shot weapons. This is exactly what happened to the unfortunate Indians during the Pedernales River engagement. The Texans later stated that had it not been for their Paterson repeaters they would undoubtedly not have survived this fight. After the celebrated use of these nine-inch barreled “five-shooters” by the Texas Rangers, the No. 5 holster model earned the sobriquet of “Texas Paterson.”
The reputation gained by Colt revolvers during this fast and furious skirmish helped establish Sam Colt as a man who could produce a reliable and deadly repeating pistol—something that was much needed on the frontier. Many years after this battle, an old Comanche who had been involved in “Hays’ Big Fight,” as the incident was often called, commented when shown a Paterson Colt, “Him no good.” Reportedly, this old warrior still carried a ball in his shoulder as a reminder of that bloody day.
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