THE SLOCUM REVOLVER

Before we begin discussing the very unique Slocum revolver, we must first speak of Rollin White and his patent.

Rollin White (1817-1892) was employed in the Colt factory in 1854 when most revolvers were cap and ball firearms. Mr. White designed and patented a revolver cylinder that was bored completely through for the use of paper cartridges. Sam Colt thought such a design too dangerous to use and rejected it. Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson had been experimenting with metallic cartridges, so they purchased the right to use White's patent for $497.00 and agreed to pay White .25 cents for every revolver they sold that used his patent. The firm that became Smith and Wesson now began to produce revolvers that used metallic cartridges, and because they owned the patent rights it prevented other firearm companies from competing with them. There were a few companies such as Allen and Wheelock who violated the patent laws which resulted in numerous court battles and legal expenses for Mr. White.

The onset of the American Civil War created an increase demand for firearms, particularly handguns that could be used for personal protection. Smith and Wesson had a monopoly on the easy to load and easy to use cartridge revolvers, a concept still in wide use today.

Now,,let's return to Frank Slocum and his revolver. He wanted to create a revolver that used metallic cartridges, which could not be loaded from the front of the cylinder, nor did he want to violate White's patent of a bored- through cylinder. Frank's very unique revolver loads the cylinder from the side, thus preventing him from becoming entangled in the legal battles with Rollin White. The Slocum revolver has a open-sided cylinder with small sliding panels that allow the metallic cartridge to be loaded and unloaded easily but encases the cartridge when it is fired. Slocum revolvers were manufactured by the Brooklyn Arms Company in 1864-65. It is estimated they manufactured 10,000 .32 rimfire revolvers.

The Whittington Center Museum currently has a Slocum revolver on display showing the sliding panels with a cartridge in place.