A Colt M1877 ‘Lightning’ double-action revolver that was carried by Lucius M. Baldwin in the Dalton Gang Shootout in Coffeyville, Kansas, which occurred on the morning of October 5, 1892, when the outlaws attempted a daylight robbery of two banks. Baldwin was shot and killed by Bob Dalton as the former turned a corner and ran into the outlaws who, after warning Baldwin to cease his progress, opened fire. The revolver, serial number 16706, was made in 1879 and has a factory 2 ½ inch barrel with an etched panel that reads "COLT D.A.38". The gun is nickel-finished, has factory-checkered hard rubber grips, and was made without an ejector rod. The revolver retains about 85% original nickel, the etched barrel panel is very legible, and the grips show light wear with a large chip missing at the bottom of the right grip. The bore rates very good and the mechanism works in both the single and double-action mode. Includes a copy of a Colt factory letter that confirms the specifications and that the gun was shipped to Schuyler, Hartley & Graham in New York City on April 10, 1879.
Disguised with fake beards, the overconfident Dalton Gang formed two teams that fateful day: Grat Dalton, Bill Power, and Dick Broadwell entered the C.M. Condon & Co. Bank, while Bob and Emmett Dalton crossed the plaza to enter the First National Bank. The men were spotted, the authorities alerted, and soon many of Coffeyville's citizens began to arm themselves from nearby hardware stores. Lucius M. Baldwin was a 23-year-old clerk in the Read Brothers Dry Goods store who picked up this Colt at Isham's hardware store. Unfortunately for young Baldwin, he exited the back door at Isham's just as Bob and Emmett Dalton exited the back door of the First National Bank, which was just next door to Isham's. Both Bob and Emmett aimed their rifles at him and ordered him to halt. When Baldwin continued toward them, Bob shot him through the left chest, a wound that resulted in his passing the next day. Baldwin was one of four Coffeyville citizens killed by the Dalton gang, with three others wounded. At an auction to raise money for the families of the dead townspeople, this revolver was purchased by Hazard W. Read, who passed it down to his daughter Frances Read Kaiser. In 1964, upon her death, it was willed to Charlotte Read Dahlstrom.
This Colt Lightning was on display for many years in the Dalton Museum in Coffeyville, Kansas and, as such, the gun is accompanied by many documents relating to the Dalton Museum (including its original exhibition card) and other probate documents relating to Mrs. Charlotte Dahlstrom's inheritance and retrieval of the gun from the museum. Also included is a 66-page reprint of an 1892 booklet written by D.S. Elliott, the editor of the Coffeyville Journal, that is titled ‘Last Raid of the Daltons,’ as well as a first edition book entitled What Really Happened on October 5, 1892, by Lue Driver Barndollar, which was printed for the 100th year anniversary of the Dalton Raid and contains pictures of the many known guns that were used in the shootout, including this Colt Lightning on page 61.
This is an antique revolver and transfers with no federal restrictions.
Provenance:
Isham Brothers & Mansur
Lucius M. Baldwin
Hazard W. Read
Frances Read Kaiser
Charlotte Read Dahlstrom
