Full length view

Full length view (left hand side) of the
sidearm of Pvt. Adam Unroe, 1st Virginia
and 18th Virginia Cavalry

PRIVATE UNROE'S CONFEDERATE
KERR REVOLVER

by Mark A. Anniballi

Discovery

I couldn't be reading it right. I was on an antique gun bulletin board, and there appeared a question to "the experts" from a young lady about a Kerr (pronounced "car") revolver. It read: "I have a pistol marked London Armoury Co., Kerr Patent 9240. This gun is in fair condition and has a leather holster. I am interested in selling this. Any information you could provide me is appreciated."

My eyes were fixed on the number 9240. This could not be. I knew I had in my arms library a photocopy of an article on Kerr revolvers in a January 1979 issue of The Gun Report. I also knew that the article contained an obscure handwritten list of 16 pistols documented by serial number, seven of which were noted as Kerr's, and each listed pistol had a name associated with it. In antique arms collecting circles, this list is known as the "Pratt Roll" as it resulted from a July 1864 inventory Lt. G. Julian Pratt, Company H, 18th Virginia Cavalry, took of his squad's weapons. The seven serial numbers are practically burned in my memory. I knew that fourth from the bottom of the list was Kerr revolver #9240.

The experts who generally contribute their knowledge to the bulletin board did not respond to this inquiry. Now I'm no expert, but of this particular manufacturer I probably know as much (or as little) as anyone. I got on the Internet to answer this lady and told her of it being listed on the Pratt Roll. I did not include the name of the person the gun was assigned to, just the basic facts about the revolver and an approximate value. I congratulated her on owning one of the few documented Kerr revolvers, and I advised her to keep it if she was able to. I also offered to assist her in the future if I could.

Much to my surprise, two days later I received a personal e-mail from her. She explained that she had inherited the Kerr from her mother and that she remembered the revolver was supposed to be from the Civil War. Having grown up in Ohio, she assumed it was a Union pistol.

About four hours later I received another e-mail from her, and she was quite excited. She had located a webpage for the 18th Virginia Cavalry, and it contained the roster of the 18th Virginia. There she had located her great-great grandfather's name, Adam Unroe. I immediately answered her e-mail with "Congrats again, the name on the Pratt Roll is Unroe, A." I sent her names of book companies and research services that might help her locate more information on her ancestor and wished her luck in her search.

It was clear that the gun had obviously been passed down through the family, and she now had the basic information she needed to start a genealogical search. No way the Kerr would now be for sale, of that I was certain, but I felt good about having shared with her the information and knowledge I had obtained through my years of collecting.

Well, to my surprise, she informed me she was still interested in selling the Kerr. I wrote her one last e-mail, expressing my hope that my efforts to assist her with the information I had provided would earn me first consideration in the purchase of the Kerr. It did! Two phone calls later I owned this prized Confederate revolver from our Civil War.

Kerr History

Kerr revolvers were made from 1859-'66 by the London Armoury Company, which was founded on February 9, 1856. It appears that Kerr revolver production was begun around April 1859. The Kerr revolver was made in both .36 and .44 calibre, and in both single action and double action models. Early Kerr revolvers were made for the British civilian market. The only known purchase of Kerr revolvers by the US Ordinance Department was for 16 Kerrs in the amount of $18.00 each from the New York firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham in November 1862. A total of just over 11,000 Kerr revolvers were produced.

In 1861, Capt. Caleb Huse was sent to Europe to procure arms for the Confederacy. By March 1862, he had an exclusive contract with the London Armoury Company for all arms produced by their firm. It is widely accepted that nearly all Kerr revolvers from approximate serial numbers 3000 through 10000 were made for and shipped to the Confederacy.

Full length view (right hand side) of Kerr revolver s/n 9240. Note the cylinder pin at the rear and the left hand side hammer

The five-shot Kerr revolver is most recognizable by the cylinder pin that enters the rear of the frame and its large side-mounted hammer and lock plate that closely resemble those on Civil War-era muskets. The lock is engraved "London Armoury" or "London Armoury Co." The left side of the Kerr frame is stamped with an oval stamp proclaiming "London Armoury." A left side barrel flat is stamped "LAC" and with British proof marks of a crown over the letter P (proved) and a crown over the letter V (viewed). The right side of the frame is engraved "Kerr's Patent" followed by the serial number (in the case of Pvt. Adam Unroe's revolver, 9240). The cylinder is engraved with that same serial number and the rear of each chamber of the cylinder is stamped with a proved or viewed stamp.

In addition to the serial number, Kerr revolvers are stamped with a secondary number. In the case of Kerr revolver 9240, the secondary number "30" appears on the trigger guard, trigger, cylinder face, hammer, inside the metal butt cap, inside the lock plate and inside the frame below the cylinder. The inside of the lock plate and grip cavity contain initials. These initials and secondary numbers are believed to have been applied by factory assemblers. Many parts on the Kerr revolvers were hand fitted, and this initial and number system allowed the revolvers to be returned to the original assemblers in the event adjustments or repairs were necessary.

Lockplate engraving
"London Armoury Co."

The left side barrel flat, bearing the mark "L.A.C.", the crown over P, and the crown over V. The "London Armoury" stamping can be seen on the frame

One other stamp is observed on many Kerr revolvers and it is the object of growing debate. At the rear of the trigger guard in the checkered wooden grip, a stamp of the initials "JS" over an anchor can be found. This mark was applied by the British stockmaker J. Smiles, who made the checkered grips found on Kerr revolvers. This JS/anchor stamp has been reported to be a Confederate inspector's mark or acceptance stamp. I do not subscribe to that theory. I have viewed Kerr revolvers in the 15XX and 17XX serial number ranges that bear the JS/anchor stamp. These revolvers would have been made long before Caleb Huse's contract existed, and it is unlikely that any Confederate inspector would have been checking London Armoury Kerr revolvers with such early serial numbers. The arms starved Confederacy would have accepted the London Armoury Kerr revolvers and their rigid factory inspection process at face value. These revolvers were likely distributed as quickly as they arrived in the south. If a Confederate inspector existed who had inspected approximately 7,000 Kerr revolvers, his name would surely have been documented in some correspondence between the Confederate government and its officials in England. This one inspector would have needed to simultaneously be in a variety of locations throughout the South in order to inspect the large number of Kerr revolvers that successfully ran the Union blockade around Southern port cities from Virginia to Florida. This would have been a job for more than one man and thus other initials, in different locations, would have to be found on Kerr revolvers. None are.

The JS over anchor mark on the grip beneath the tang

It is believed that the London Armoury Company supplied the Confederacy solely with the .44 calibre, single action model Kerr revolver, but I have in my collection a Kerr revolver bearing the serial number 4562 in .36 calibre with all the aforementioned specific marks and the JS/anchor. I also own a Kerr revolver bearing serial number 10034 that has neither the lock plate engraving nor the JS/anchor grip stamp. So, as with many guns of the period, there are exceptions. I feel that the presence of these standard marks found on Kerr revolvers does not assure the revolver was an issued Confederate gun, nor does the absence of the markings preclude the gun from being Confederate issue.

The London Armoury was so dependent on their business with the Southern Cause that it suffered the same fate as the Confederate States. By the spring of 1866, the London Armoury Company was dissolved.

The "London Armoury" stamp in an oval can be seen on the frame, and the inspector's mark "30" is on the trigger

Right hand side of the Kerr revolver showing "9240" on the cylinder and "Kerr's Patent Revolver" on the frame

Pvt. Unroe

Adam Unroe was born March 27, 1830, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He wed Mary Elizabeth Ford on December 16, 1852, and the union produced a total of 11 children. Five of them had been born by the time he enlisted in Company C, 1st Virginia Cavalry, on March 10, 1862. During his service with the 1st Virginia, he participated in such pivotal battles as Brandy Station and Gettysburg. Along with his cavalry duties, Adam Unroe was also detailed as a baggage guard (July-August 1862) and hospital attendant/clerk at the General Hospital at Hanover Academy, Virginia (March 1863).

He was discharged from the 1st Virginia Cavalry early in the second quarter of 1864, and on May 1, 1864, Pvt. Adam Unroe enlisted in Company H, 18th Virginia Cavalry. His service with the 18th Virginia took him to battles at Cold Harbor, New Market, Piedmont, Lynchburg, Monocacy, Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek.

In his four years of service for the Confederacy, Pvt. Adam Unroe did not even receive a minor wound. Unfortunately, because he was only a private, Adam's service exploits and experiences are not documented at great length.

As the Civil War drew to a close in Virginia, many Confederate cavalry units refused to surrender to Union authorities. Cavalrymen rode off, escaped, or simply disbanded. Pvt. Unroe seems to have chosen one of these options, as that would account for him being able to retain his revolver.

Adam Unroe returned to Rockbridge County after the war. He was a farmer most of his life and was elected road commissioner to Buffalo Township for a term of one year on May 23, 1871. In the mid 1880s, he worked as a schoolteacher. On March 4, 1887 he and his family moved to Bringhurst, Carrol County, Indiana. They remained there until just after 1891, when Adam made one last move to Wolcott, White County, Indiana. He had enjoyed perfect health for the first 68 years of his life, but in his old age he suffered a broken limb and was stricken by cancer, the ultimate cause of his death on July 11, 1908. Adam outlived his wife by more than three years and was buried by her side in Meadow Lake Cemetery in Wolcott.

Adam's pallbearers were ex-Union soldiers. His obituary read: "Tenderly the boys in blue bore to his last resting place their neighbor, who had worn the gray, thus burying all animosities before the clods of earth hid from view their old time enemy."

Adam Unroe passed the Kerr revolver on to his oldest son, John Etchison Unroe (1853-1918), and John passed it on to his oldest son, Warren Adam Unroe (1880-1938). Warren then handed it down to his daughter, Virginia Louisa Unroe Delporte (1920-'91). Virginia passed it on to her daughter, Michelle Diane Delporte Brazeal (1950-present), who sold the Kerr to me.

The existence of Pvt. Adam Unroe's revolver serves as additional proof that the London Armoury Company Kerr is well deserving of a place alongside other noted Confederate revolvers of the Civil War.

Postscript

A transcript of a war-dated letter to Adam Unroe from his wife, Mary, can be found on the Internet. It was transcribed by Unroe descendant Angela M. Ruley, and may be found at
                                                                  http://ffp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/civilwar/letters/unroe.txt.

~o0o~

The author extends his thanks to Michelle Brazeal, Sand Springs, Oklahoma,
the great great granddaughter of Adam Unroe, and to Angela Ruley of
Natural Bridge, Virginia, for researching Adam's life in Rockbridge County
and his move to Indiana. Special appreciation also goes to Mr. F. "Jay"
Huber of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Dr. Ted Meredith of Boca Raton,
            Florida, for their invaluable knowledge and efforts.

Sources:

* Albaugh, William, et al. Confederate Handguns. Philadelphia, Penn; Riling and
   Lentz, 1963.
* Delauter, Roger U. 18th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg, Va; H.E. Howard,
   Inc.,1985.
* Driver, Robert J. 1st Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg, Va; H.E. Howard, Inc. 1991.
* Driver, Robert J. Lexington and Rockbridge County in the Civil War.
   Lynchburg,Va; H.E. Howard, Inc., 1989.
* Federal Census, 1850 Rockbridge County, Va, p. 341, District 51 1/2, dwelling
   #147, family #150; 1870, Buffalo Township, Rockbridge County, Va; 1880,
   Rockbridge County, Va, Buffalo District.
* Gaidis, Henry L. "The Confederate Kerr Revolver," The Gun Report, January
1979.
* "Gone West," Rockbridge County News, March 4, 1887.
* Paine, John W. "From Collierstown," Rockbridge County News, January 27, 1885.
* Paine, John W. "From Collierstown," Rockbridge County News, April 23, 1886.
* Rockbridge County records: Virginia Death Register, pp. 19, 47, 91; Virginia
   Marriage Register 1, p. 428; Virginia Will Book 20, p. 28.
* Wolcott, Indiana, newspaper obituaries, July 1908.

This article was first published in North South Trader's Civil War magazine Vol. XXVI No. 6, Christmas 1999 edition and is reprinted here with permission.