POTD: Massachusetts Colt Second Model Dragoon – Surgeon’s Sidearm

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a big Colt with a Civil War story attached. This is a Colt Second Model Dragoon in 44 caliber, one of only 100 the Massachusetts militia received from the U.S. Ordnance Department in 1852 under the Militia Act. Roughly 20 are thought to survive.

No Dragoon is scarcer than the Second Model. Only about 2,700 were built, compared to around 7,000 First Models and 10,500 Third Models. You can pick one out by the square-back trigger guard paired with rectangular cylinder stop notches, plus a roller on the hammer that’s easy to miss.

This one is identified to Dr. Norman Smith, regimental surgeon of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. The 6th mustered into federal service on April 15th, 1861, three days after Fort Sumter, and headed for Washington. On April 19th, while changing trains in Baltimore, the regiment was attacked by a pro-secession mob. Four soldiers and twelve civilians died, and Dr. Smith treated the wounded.

Once in Washington, the regiment garrisoned the capital, and Smith had to take the foot off a soldier who’d put a round through his own ankle by accident. It’s often called the first amputation of the Civil War, and it happened inside the Capitol building itself. Accounts differ on the exact room, with some saying the Rotunda and others the old Supreme Court chamber just steps away. The 6th mustered out in August 1861.

I would go as far as saying a Dragoon with a story like this is worth more than the sum of its parts.

Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!

“Cased Massachusetts U.S. Colt 2nd Dragoon Identified to Surgeon.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4097/3196/cased-massachusetts-us-colt-2nd-dragoon-identified-to-surgeon. Accessed 29 Sept. 2026.

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