Texas Pistol Makers of the Confederacy

Texas Pistol Makers of the Confederacy William A. Gary All of the Confederate pistol makers of the Civil War were located either in Georgia or Texas. Much more has been known and written about the Georgia makers than about those from Texas. Also, much that has been written about the Texas makers has not been accurate. The purpose of this paper is to straighten out the inac- curate history of these "Texas pistol makers of the Con- federacy." There were two revolver makers in Texas who played a part in arming the Confederacy. They were the firms of J.H. Dance and Brothers, and the Lancaster Pistol Factory. The latter of these two companies made those revolvers known to collectors as the Tucker and Sherrard and the Clark and Sherrard. It has always been thought that the Dance Brothers to North Carolina, then to Alabama and, finally, to Texas. never had a contract with either the Confederate govern- The four Dance brothers settled in Brazoria County, ment or the Texas Military Board. It has also been Texas, in 1853, where they became the preeminent gun thought that while the Lancaster firm had a contract with makers of Texas' history and the preeminent family of the Texas Military Board, they never completed any gun makers for the Confederacy. revolvers during the war. The brothers were James Henry, George Perry, I would like to explore with you what is now known David Ethelred, and Isaac Claudius Dance. A cousin, and believed to be the facts about these two revolver Harrison Perry Dance, also was involved in the business. makers. The firm of J.H. Dance & Bros. was founded in the town of Columbia, Texas, which was situated on the banks of J.H. DANCE & BROS. the Brazos River near Houston and Galveston. By today's terms the business would have been called a machine Nothing quickens the heartbeat of a Texas gun col- shop, but at that time it was known as a steam factory. lector more than the anticipation of acquiring a Confed- When the Civil War broke out, the brothers decided they erate Dance revolver. True, they were not really Confed- should join the war effort and so they halted other busi- erate, only secondary Confederate. The Dance factory ness efforts in favor of producing revolvers for the Con- never had a contract with the Confederate government or federacy. This must have been quite an undertaking for a even the Texas Military Board; however, the guns were group of country boys who had no experience in gun manufactured during the Civil War, so they must have making or in the manufacture of guns. been purchased by Confederate soldiers for wartime use. This decision probably was made in late 1861 or A true statement? early 1862. It is interesting to note that the Dance Not by a long shot. brothers never received any money from the Confeder- Not only did the Dance factory furnish revolvers for ate government or the Texas Military Board for financial the Confederate Army, but prior to the end of the war, assistance to start production. It is also interesting to the Confederate government probably acquired owner- note that all four brothers entered the Confederate Army ship under the Confederate Ordnance Department. We by enlisting in the 35th Texas Cavalry (Brown's Regi- are getting ahead of the story, though. First we need to go ment). back to the beginning and review the history of the Dance Over the years, disagreements have surfaced as to family's venture into revolver production. whether the revolvers made in Columbia should be The family dates back to Thomas Dance (1675- known by the name of Dance or as Dance and Parks. 1765) of Virginia, whose grandson, Ethelred (1750- Jesse W., Anderson, and Samual Park were brothers who 1828), served for North Carolina during the American lived in Columbia and worked at the pistol factory Revolution. Family members migrated first from Virginia throughout the war. Reprinted from the American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin 55:29-39 Additional articles available at http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/resources/articles/ .44 Caliber Dance revolver from the collection of Don Bryan. Fuller and Steuart's Firearms of the Confederacy Archives indicate that on May 1, 1862, George P., David (1944) refer to the revolvers as Dance and Parks because E., and Isaac Claudius Dance were detached from their they believed the Park brothers were partners in the firm. unit for duty at the pistol factory in Columbia where they Carroll C. Holloway in Texas Gun Lore (1951) refuted remained until the war ended. James Henry Dance, how- this and said it was a misconception to believe that the ever, continued in the service as 1st Lieutenant in the Parks were any more than factory employees. 35th Texas Cavalry. Despite his absence from the There are no records of a business relationship factory, he still seems to have played some type of between Dance and Park in either Brazoria or Grimes management role in the firm's operation. county, although there are tax records before, during, and By July 1862 the factory was close to finishing its after the war in Brazoria County for both groups of men. first revolvers. Mattie wrote George on July 5, 1862, "the There also are tax records for J.H. Dance & Bros. How- boys think they will soon get three or four of their pistols ever, records from the National Archives reveal that all finished." the correspondence refers to the firm as Dance and Park, On February 25, 1863, she wrote "there was a bene- never as J.H. Dance and Bros. This would indicate that fit given in Columbia to raise money for disabled Confed- there must have been some form of business relationship erate veterans. The boys gave them a very fine pistol between the two groups. which they sold. I took a chance on it for you but lost it. Information now available on the wartime operation Mr. Beal Terry drew it." of the Dance Bros. pistol factory comes from the National All Confederate arms makers found it very difficult Archives and the "Mattie and George Duff Letters and to locate skilled workers due to the Confederate Con- Papers" now in the Confederate Collection of the Hill scription Act, which drafted all white males ages 18 to 35 County Junior College Library in Hillsboro, Texas. without exception. Their only recourse was to convince Mattie Duff was a cousin of the Dances and lived in the army to assign smiths and mechanics to work in the the home of James Henry Dance while her husband, factories, although few firms had much success with this George, served as Captain of Company A of the 35th approach. The Dance brothers, however, were quite Texas Cavalry. Fortunately for today's students of the successful. More than 35 soldiers were assigned to work Dance pistol factory, letters to her husband, in which she at the factory and at least 23 of them came from the 35th kept him well informed about the pistol factory, were Texas Cavalry (Brown's Regiment). This success was no preserved. doubt due in part to James Henry Dance, one of the The Dance brothers did better than many other Con- unit's officers. federate revolver makers in getting their factory into Another contributing factor was that most of the production. Military service records from the National Texas units in the Confederate Army had trouble secur- .36 Caliber Dance revolver from the collection of Cliff Young. ing arms and Brown's Regiment was no exception. The with the timing of the purchase of the Dance pistol prospect of getting more revolvers manufactured no factory by the Confederate government. doubt was a strong incentive for the Regiment to assign On November 30, 1863, Mattie wrote George Duff soldiers to the factory. In a letter dated August 29, 1863, that "the boys think it quite possible they will quit the by George Duff to Mattie, he states, "I have an oppor- shop soon. George (Dance) went to Galveston last week tunity to send a letter to you by George Westervelt who is to see if he could make a government affair of it and he going to Columbia today to work in the pistol factory. Jim thinks perhaps it will be done." On April 16, 1864, she Henry has got several more men detailed to work in the wrote that "George (Dance) did not find out anything factory with the promise from Gen. Magruder that our about what they will do about his machinery. The papers Battalion shall have all the pistols they make till we are were sent back to Houston." On June 16, 1864, 1st armed." Lieutenant J.H. Dance was given leave to go to Anderson It has always been the belief that the Dance brothers "for the purpose of settling with Capt. Good for machin- never had a contract with the State of Texas or the Con- ery sold the Government." The fact that the pistol federate government. It can now be shown that this was factory now was part of the Confederate Ordnance not the case. Department is supported by the unit's muster rolls, In a letter from Edmund P. Turner to Dance and which no longer identified the workers as detached to the Park dated June 26, 1863, Turner states, "I am verbally pistol factory. Instead, they were now carried on the Post informed by Major Maclin, Chief Ordnance Officer of Return, Post of Anderson, Grimes County, Texas. this district, that the contract with Messrs.

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