Maker

Massachusetts Arms Company (Manufacturer)

Dimensions / Weight

Dimensions: 4.5" H x 12" W x 1.5" D

Physical Description

Massachusetts Arms Co. Belt Revolver, .31-caliber with Maynard primer.

General History

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed the two territories to decide the issue of slavery by a popular ballot. The fight in Kansas was so intense that the state earned the nickname of “Bleeding Kansas.” John Brown bought 2,000 of these revolvers and sent them to Kansas for the “Free-Soilers.” New England abolitionists helped bankroll “Free-Soilers” to move to the settlement of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1856, after abolitionists were attacked in Lawrence, John Brown led a raid on scattered cabins along the Pottawatomie Creek, killing five people. Kansas would not become a state until 1861, after the Confederate states seceded.