This incredibly high condition and historic "Volcanic" No.1 Pocket pistol was manufactured after Oliver Winchester gained control of the insolvent Volcanic Repeating Arms Company and reformed it as the New Haven Arms Company on May 1, 1857. "Plated and Engraved" No. 1 4-Inch Pocket Pistols cost $13.50 and could carry 6 rounds of ammunition per the company price list on May 1, 1859. The brilliantly high polish blued barrel is marked "NEW HAVEN CONN." and "PATENT FEB. 14 1854" on top. A "pinched" blade front sight is fitted at the muzzle, and a notch rear sight is fitted to the dovetail at the back of the frame. Many of the other smaller components are also brilliantly blued. The hammer is casehardened and knurled, and the frame and sideplate are plated in silver and feature classic factory scroll and border engraving. The serial number is marked on the left side of the butt under the left grip. The grips are piano-varnished walnut and are numbered to the pistol. The butt is crisply engraved with the historic inscription: "Theodore H. Rockford/from the/First Baptist Choir,/New Haven." in three different beautifully cut scripts. The pistol comes in an extraordinarily rare green pasteboard box with a "PLATED & ENGRAVED" label on one end flap and an empty lacquered tin container for ammunition with a New Haven Arms Company label inside. As an extremely high condition "plated and engraved" Volcanic, this pistol would already rank as one of the most desirable examples. Very, very few of these pistols retain significant finish, and only a select few boxes are known. Once this pistol's historic inscription is taken into account, it becomes truly one of the most desirable and valuable of all Volcanic firearms extant today. Naturally, the set has received previous attention. The pistol and box are featured and discussed on pages 108 and 109 of "Volcanic Firearms: Predecessor to the Winchester Rifle" by Lewis & Rutter who note: "Boxed pistols of this quality are extremely rare." That is certainly an understatement! Considering the high condition, the extremely rare box with the "PLATED & ENGRAVED" end label still complete, and the historic inscription, this pistol is truly elite. The book also shows the "Regimental Descriptive Book (List of Commissioned Officers) of the 19th U.S.C.T." entry for Major Theodore H. Rockwood showing him as appointed major on Nov. 28, 1863, and as mustered in by Colonel Binney on December 21, 1863 and "Killed in front of Petersburg, Va. Jul. 30, 64", indicating he was killed in the famous Battle of the Crater. The authors write: "Theodore H. Rockwood was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1836 and as a young adult received, from the Choir of the First Baptist Church, a presentation pistol made by the New Haven Arms Company. Just why he received this gift is unknown. Perhaps it was because he mustered into the service of the United States in Company E of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery on May 21, 1861, during the Civil War. He was given the rank of First Lieutenant and served in that unit before he transferred to become Major of the Infantry in December of 1863. He joined the 19th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.) as a staff officer and trained with the troops at Camp Stanton in Benedict, Maryland. The unit was attached to the Fourth Division of the Army of the Potomac from April until July of 1864, when it found itself in front of the Confederate defenders around Petersburg, Virginia. The rebels were deeply entrenched and, in an attempt to break the stalemate, the Union forces devised a plan to detonate 8,000 pounds of gunpowder under the Confederate breastworks. The explosion killed many defenders and created a huge crater. The Confederate defenders recovered, and the 'Battle of the Crater' followed with the Union soldiers attacking across the canister swept 'No Man's Land.' Colonel Henry G. Thomas tried to rally his men after getting pinned down on the western edge of the crater. Thomas saw officer after officer fall dead and said one officer, Major Theodore H. Rockwood of the 19th U.S.C.T., that he 'mounted the crest of a trench and fell back dead with a smile on his lips.' Had Major Rockwood stayed with the Heavy Artillery and not transferred to the Infantry to get a promotion, he may have survived the Civil War." The pistol's exact provenance is not recorded, but researching the inscription proved enlightening. Major Theodore Hubert Rockwood (1835-1864) was the son of Josiah Rockwood (1802-1859), a deacon in the First Baptist Church, and Emily Phelps Rockwood (1809-1900). Reverend Sylvanus Dryden Phelps was his uncle and first took the pulpit at First Baptist in 1845 and remained its leader until 1882. Clearly, the family formed a very important part of the congregation which a church history published in the early 20th century noted was "strongly pro-Union" during the Civil War and had one hundred of their men in the Union Army. It seems likely that Rockwood was a member of the choir, and the pistol may have been presented when he intended to enlist to fight for the Union early in the Civil War. It was common for influential men to be presented sidearms by members of their community or their comrades in arms as they headed off to war. The lack of a rank suggests it was presented before Rockwood enlisted as First Lieutenant in Company E of the 4th Connecticut Regiment (subsequently re-designated the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery) in May 1861. It is also possible it was presented prior to the war. Rockwood became a captain on December 17 and mustered out in December 1863 to take the promotion to major in the 19th Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops. The 19th was organized on December 25, 1863, at Camp Stanton in Benedict, Maryland, and was under the command of Colonel Henry Goddard Thomas and formed part of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, IX Corps, Army of the Potomac. The regiment fought in the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign, including in combat at the Battle of the Wilderness. At the Siege of Petersburg, a division of the U.S. Colored Troops were specially trained under General Ambrose Burnside's orders in preparation for the Battle of the Crater. The plan was for one brigade to head around the left side of the crater formed by the explosion and the other to the right. Instead, Burnside was ordered to use white troops out of fear that should the black troops suffer heavy losses, it would be said their superiors had not valued their lives. The troops substituted were not specially trained for the mission nor given proper instructions. After the explosion, the troops stalled before advanced into the crater instead of around it, took up firing positions instead of advancing rapidly, and then became pinned down after the Confederates reformed their line and began taking heavy losses. The 19th was sent into the crater to provide support and attempt a break through, but they also suffered heavy losses. According to Colonel Thomas, Rockwood was killed leading his men into the action. He remarked, "I would also speak of the gallant and genial Maj. Theodore H. Rockwood, Nineteenth U.S. Colored Troops, who, when the regiment was ordered forward, sprang upon the parapet, the first man, fell cheering his regiment on. Such men cannot be easily replaced, nor the void they leave in our hearts readily filled." The Union troops in the crater ultimately attempted to retreat or surrender given their heavy losses. Many of Rockwood's men were summarily executed by the Confederates when they attempted to surrender. In a letter to his chief of staff, General Ulysses S. Grant wrote that the Battle of the Crater "was the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war." Unlike Rockwood, the pistol was saved from the ravages of the Civil War. The pistol likely remained in the family for many years as a memento of a fallen son and brother. It may have been passed on to Major Rockwood's older brother, Captain Newell Phelps Rockwood (1831-1916) of Company K, 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Regardless of its subsequent ownership, it was clearly very carefully looked after for a great many years and remains in extremely high condition to this day and remains an extraordinary historical artifact connected to a brave Union officer killed in the ill-fated "Battle of the Crater." Provenance: Major Thomas H. Rockwood; The Alden S. Bradstock III Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Excellent. 75% plus of the original high polish blue finish remains with light scratches and some flaking from age and storage and showing smooth brown patina. The hammer and trigger retain the vast majority of the vibrant original case colors with some light fading mainly on the upper left of the hammer. 90% of the original silver plating remains on the frame and side plates. There are some minor flaked areas along the top, and both the silver and the revealed brass exhibit attractively aged patina. The markings, factory engraving, and the historic inscription all remain crisp. The grips are excellent and have nearly all of the original glossy piano varnish remaining and only minor handling and storage marks. Mechanically functions fine if you cock the hammer first. The box is fine with moderate edge wear and some flaking, and the tin is also fine with the vast majority of the dark lacquered finish remaining and the majority of the original label inside the lid with slight flaking and some staining. As stated in "Volcanic Firearms": "This very fine New Haven Pocket pistol has virtually all of the silver plating intact and is contained in an excellent cardboard box with an end label stating the pistol was 'PLATED & ENGRAVED'." An outstandingly high condition New Haven Arms Co. Volcanic pistol with stunning original blue and silver, crisp factory engraving, a sharp historical inscription from a church in New Haven to Major Theodore H. Rockwood who died while serving as an officer with the 19th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops at the historic Battle of the Crater at Petersburg and it comes in an extremely rare box and a cartridge tin; what more could a collector possibly dream of!?