I just love Soldier Inscribed Identified Guns. This is an attractive gun ! It's a very early model 1851 Colt Navy Revolver 36 caliber. This one is in very eye appealing condition. It has a smooth appealing dark surface all over. It has all matching production numbers of 12,581 including the barrel wedge. The production number 12,581 , lets us know the gun would have been manufactured in 1852 . The top of the barrel has a vividly clear one line maker's mark that reads " ADDRESS SAMl COLT NEW YORK CITY " The side of the frame and cylinder has the clear " COLTS PATENT " Stamp still visible. The cylinder of the gun has still has a small amount of the original Navy scene still visible. One thing that is interesting about this gun , is that one of the chambers of the cylinder blew out and has been repaired. I'm assuming that it was blacksmith repaired, could have been arsenal repaired , whoever did it, knew what they were doing. That chamber could not be used anymore and the nipple was removed so not to use it , but the other 5 chambers could be used. Being pressed back into service through necessity. The action works great in all positions . The backstrap and triggerguard are in nice shape and each has a pretty tone to the brass. The brass still has a good amount of the original silver on the brass. NOW FOR THE REALLY COOL PART 😎! The soldier neatly Inscribed his name on the brass backstrap . It reads in very clear letters " P. J. PLEDGER " . I went to Findagrave and typed in the name. There is only one name that came up on find a grave search nation wide that would match it . It was Philip James Pledger buried in Dekalb County Tennessee. I also searched on Ancestry.com for him and I had the same results. Only one man that would match the First and Middle Initials. P. J. Pledger is fortunately not a common name and had only one match. I have some of his history in the pictures. In some of the the census records , he was listed as PJ . That could possibly have been his nickname people called him instead of his full name. He was 17 years old in the 1860 census, living at home with his parents in Sparta Tennessee in White County the next county over from Dekalb County. That would have made him 18 years old at the outbreak of the war in 1861. I believe this man was the owner of this gun . Now in both Dekalb County and White County, Tennessee there were mainly Confederate soldiers recruited there, however, there were a few men signed with Northern units there also . I could not find any military records on him southern or northern. I believe if he would have inlisted in a northern unit , I would have been able to find him because of the well maintained northern records, plus, I don't think they would have issued him an early Colt .The southern records are not as easily accessible sometimes. I called the Tennessee State Archives and they told me that alot of the Tennessee Confederate records are not yet all digitized and would be on their microfilm or on the original records and muster roles at the archives. I have not made the trip to Nashville, yet , due to my busy schedule. If we get his military records, the price will be much more. I believe a trip to the archives would tell the tale. I really think he was Confederate, otherwise I would have found him . This is a fantastic piece of history that still has more of its story yet to tell.

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