A Rare American Civil War Period .36 SAVAGE percussion revolver. Circa 1861-1862. Engraved on the top strap "Savage R. F. A. Co. Middletown Ct. H. S. North Patented. June 17th 1856. January 18th 1859. May 15th 1860". 6 shot, double-action with a second ring trigger underneath the first. Designed in 1860 by gunsmiths Henry S. North and Edward Savage, production began in Middletown, Connecticut in 1861 and ended in 1862. The US Army took an interest in the design at the start of the American Civil War, ordering 5,500 for Union troops. Eventually some 11,000 Savage revolvers were sold to the U. S. Army (with a further 800 for the US Navy) at an average cost in 1861 of $19.00 per gun. Various stampings were put on each Savage, depending on whether it was for the Navy or Army. The rest of the production was sold commercially, some being smuggled to the Confederacy when further U. S. government contracts were not forthcoming. The Savage was officially used by the following United States army regiments: 1st Wisconsin U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, 2nd Wisconsin U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and the 7th New York Cavalry. Confederate States Army regiments: 34th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, 11th Texas Cavalry, 7th Virginia Cavalry and the 7th Missouri Cavalry. "Captain Schwartz the Sharpshooter" (actually a Lt. Col. in the 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 39th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the "Garibaldi Guard", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.) The soldier below, in an original period photograph,  holds what looks like a Savage percussion revolver.