A Rare Canadian Indian Contract Pistol by William J Rolfe 1813-1815

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Price: £2,875

Ref: AA.064.23

Item Description

A British Ordnance pistol which was part of the contract to supply Britain’s Canadian Indian allies with firearms to enable them to strengthen Britain’s defence of its Canadian border in the War of 1812 with the USA. The pistol was produced under what became known as the 1813 Indian Contract in which the Board of Ordnance utilised the services of its Birmingham based contractors to speedily manufacture arms for Indians in Canada. This pistol is by William J Rolfe, who, like the other gunmaking firms that were party to this contract, was already an established Birmingham based supplier to the Board. Rolfe made 134 pistols for this contract. The name ROLFE is stamped on the lockplate.

The full stocked pistol is mounted with a 9 inch 16 bore (0.66 inch) barrel. It is mounted with  a  plain brass trigger guard, butt plate and ramrod pipe, and a flat blued lock. The pistol is typical of the type and specification produced for this contract.

Trade in arms supplied by France and Britain to the indigenous peoples of North America and Canada had concentrated around the area of the Great Lakes since the 17th century. These arms were most certainly used in hostilities between them. The supply of British guns to the native population accelerated towards the end of the 17th century mainly through the Hudson’s Bay Company which secured supply contracts with independent gun makers in Britain. From 1753 the Board of Trade took responsibility for the supply of guns as trade goods. With the outbreak of war between the USA and Britain in 1812, the British realised the importance of securing assistance from their Indian allies to protect the Canadian frontier from incursion by the USA. An urgent need for firearms for Canada was realised and the Board of Ordnance took over responsibility for this supply from the Board of Trade from 1813 until 1816 after which it was handed back.

This pistol is a rare survivor of the group of Ordnance pistols produced for the 1813 Ordnance Contract for “Firearms for the Indians in Canada” during 1813 to 1815. Although they resemble the trade guns previously supplied to Indians they are “Ordnance” rather than “Trade” weapons. To fulfill this need  supply arrangements were agreed with at least 16 existing Ordnance contractors in Birmingham. By 1816 nearly 27,000 arms had been produced for this contract of which 2,636 were pistols.  The relatively small number of pistols goes some way to explain their scarcity today.  Less than half of the nominated contractors produced  pistols, favoring the production of long guns instead, and production ceased a year before the end of the contract in 1815.

These pistols are of a less complex type compared to contemporary British military pistols and were cheaper to produce. For example, they possess the early form of pan without a bridle which is unusual at this date. The key factor that marks them out as being part of the “Indian” contract compared to the trade pistols that went before, is that they are marked to the Board of Ordnance standard, just as military pistols were, and as is demonstrated by this example.

The barrel shows “Tower” Ordnance View and Proof marks plus the barrel inspector’s mark at the tang of a crown over a number 14, and the touch hole inspector’s mark, of a crown over a number 12. The lock plate shows the government ownership mark of a crown over a broad arrow beneath the pan. The stock shows the stocker’s mark of “D I” stamped to the right of the side plate. The storekeeper’s stamp of “1800” underneath the GR cypher is present above the lockplate tail. Two stock inspection stamps are present alongside the trigger guard tail on the lockside. A feint inspection mark is stamped at the end of the ramrod channel near the muzzle. To the front of the trigger guard the large crude letters “I D” are cut into the wood and are probably the mark of an owner.

Provenance: This pistol is from the collection of the late Clive Brook who together with Barry Chisnall and Geoff Davies co-authored “British Ordnance Single Shot Pistols”, published by Maine Military in 2019.  A copy of this publication is included with the sale of the pistol in which a full discussion of the contract and the pistols is published in pages 10-2 to 10-4.