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1873 Springfield Trapdoors Used In Skimmerhorn's 1864 Raid

posted 10 years ago by davidwile
1 reply | jump to latest

Hey folks,

I just watched this series again for the first time since its original showing, and the weapons they used seemed to be period correct up until the introduction of Skimmerhorn. At that point they used breech loading Springfield Trapdoor rifles which were not introduced until 1873 and were probably not used in the West until several years after that.

Near the end of the cattle drive episode, the Lasater grave marker clearly indicates the year was 1868. In spite of the year being 1868, it seemed the cowboys were using a variety of pistols including: the Colt 1860 Army percussion revolver, the Remington Model 1858 Army percussion revolver, and the Colt Single Action Army cartridge revolver of 1873. A moment before Mule Canby gets his right arm hacked by an Indian, he is seen in a close shot with a Remington pistol (it could have been percussion or cartridge) in his right hand and a Colt 1860 Army percussion in his left hand. In that same firefight, Poteet was using a Colt Single Action Army cartridge revolver which would not have been available until 1873, much as the Springfield Trapdoor and the Winchester 1873 rifles.

Earlier on the cattle drive, young Jim Lloyd gets a pistol from Mule Canby which appears to be a Model 1858 Remington Single Action Army percussion revolver which was converted to metallic cartridge use. The conversion of the Remington Model 1858 percussion pistol to metallic cartridges was not available until 1868 and would likely not be available for this cattle drive. During the firefight with the Indians, however, Jim Lloyd appears to shoot a Colt 1860 Army percussion revolver instead of a Remington 1858 cartridge conversion revolver.

This film, like many other films dealing with the period just before and just after the Civil War all too often have problems using the correct weapons for the period. It really would not be difficult to get it right if they only took the time to check things out. Firearms of that period are readily available, and it really is not as difficult as trying to find period correct railroad engines and cars.

In any case, it was still one of my favorite film series.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[–] liscarkat (16476) 4 years ago

As a gun enthusiast and historical archaeologist, I spot these kinds of inconsistencies in movies and television productions all the time, no matter what historical period is being depicted. Not just regarding guns, but also cars, clothing, aircraft, whiskey bottles, hairstyles, horse bridles, lumber, hats, architecture, speech, etc., etc., etc. Part of the problem is that film makers don't know the difference and don't care. Even if they did, it would probably be financially and logistically impossible to get every detail historically correct. But I agree with you that in a western film, prominent artifacts like guns are available for every period of development, and there are plenty of experts out there, like yourself, who would enthusiastically offer technical advice. It's too bad so little attention is paid to these details.