Revolver

This is a Whitney Navy Percussion revolver in .36 Caliber. It holds six shots and has a 7 1/2 octagon barrel, and is of the cap and ball type. The gun is dated around 1858-1861, and was very likely used during the American Civil War.It was produced by The Eli Whitney Company. Eli Whitney was an American inventor of the cotton gin (short for cotton engine); which was an improved method of processing cotton. Eventually his cotton gin company went bankrupt, so Whitney signed a contract with the New American Government and began making guns. He practiced this new profession from around  the French Revolution era (late 18th century) up until the Civil War (1861-1865). This revolver was the precursor of the Col. Samuel Colt Navy Revolver.

 Alex Baker McDonald (1872-1965)  was the owner of this revolver. He lived on Lot 33, Concession 5 in Lochiel. McDonald passed the revolver down to his grandson, Basil McCormick, who received this gift  when he was only 10 years old. An older neighbour held on to the revolver until Basil wanted it back in 2002. Basil McCormick then donated it to the Glengarry Pioneer Museum, where it was part of the commemorative 50th anniversary display last year, and is now kept safe in our storage facility for future exhibits.