Savage · Revolver

Savage-North Navy

Name: Savage-North Navy
Brand: Savage

Revolving · .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) · introduced 1861

Also known as Savage 1861 Navy, Savage Navy, Savage & North Percussion Revolver

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About the Savage-North Navy

The Savage-North Navy is a .36 caliber cap-and-ball percussion revolver produced by the Savage Revolving Firearms Company of Middletown, Connecticut from 1861 to 1862. Designed by Henry S. North and Edward Savage, it is notable for its unusual two-trigger mechanism: a large lower ring lever rotated the six-shot cylinder and cocked the hammer in one motion, while the conventional upper trigger released it to fire. This self-cocking arrangement made it an early step toward the double-action revolver. The U.S. government purchased some 12,000 examples, including 1,126 taken by the Navy, making it a widely issued Union cavalry sidearm of the American Civil War.

Often called one of the ugliest revolvers of the Civil War, the Savage Navy's ring-lever 'figure eight' action was mechanically ahead of its time, anticipating the double-action revolvers that would dominate decades later.

Savage-North Navy specifications

General

Type: Revolver
Action: Revolving
Firing mechanism: Percussion
Trigger: Double action
Calibres: .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball)
Magazine capacity: 6 rounds
Magazine: Revolving cylinder

Dimensions

Barrel length: 181 mm (7.1 in)
Overall length: 368 mm (14.5 in)
Weight (empty): 1.53 kg (3.38 lb)

Barrel

Rifling: Right hand

Materials

Barrel: Steel
Receiver / frame: Steel
Stock: Walnut
Finish: blued

Performance

Muzzle velocity (typical): 229 m/s (751 fps)
Effective range: 45 m

History

Introduced: 1861
Discontinued: 1862
Production status: Discontinued
Country of origin: US
Designer: Henry S. North and Edward Savage

Features

Octagonal barrel
Ring lever cocking
Two trigger mechanism
Six shot cylinder
Single action and self cocking

Roughly 20,000 were produced in total. The earlier Savage 1859 'Figure Eight' was its visually distinctive predecessor. The Navy contracted its examples at about $20 each.