POTD: Don’t Fire The Wrong Shot – Lindsay Young American Pistol
Sam.S 10.06.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Lindsay “Young American” pistol was an innovative Civil War-era design that allowed two stacked loads in one barrel. Invented by former Springfield Armory employee J.P. Lindsay after his brother was killed reloading a single-shot rifle, only around 100 of these .45 caliber martial Lindsay pistols were made. It fired separate front and rear percussion cap charges through two hammers operated by one trigger. If both were cocked, the right hammer fired first. However, the stacked load concept had major drawbacks – slight imperfections could easily ignite the rear charge first and destroy the gun. Still, the Lindsay provided a sense of extra security and innovation during a dangerous era, even if its dual-loading method ultimately proved impractical. The “Young American” Lindsay pistol highlighted creative efforts to develop multi-shot firearms, pushing boundaries prior to the widespread adoption of metallic cartridges.
“This is one of the finest “Young America” pistols extant. Only a few hundred of these rare pistols were manufactured by the Union Knife Co. in Naugatuck, Connecticut, in the early 1860s based on John P. Lindsay’s patent. Union Knife Co. also produced a couple hundred larger pistols in .41 caliber and .45 caliber, and Lindsay also had 1,000 superposed Model 1863 rifle-muskets built on contract for the U.S. government. These weapons were meant to be loaded with a charge, bullet (likely patched to provide a tight seal), second powder charge, and a final bullet all in a single barrel. Lindsay was inspired to produce a multi-shot weapon after losing his brother to an Indian attack while he was armed with a conventional single shot musket. He was able to kill one of his two assailants, but once his musket had been discharged, it became little more than a club or pike. The second attacker, likely further enraged by the loss of his ally, overpowered, killed, and scalped him. Lindsay apparently truly believed that the availability of a second shot would have spared his brother’s life. Like the other superposed load weapons experimented with in the mid-19th century, the bullet of the second load was supposed to serve as the gas seal to prevent the second powder charge from also igniting, but even very slight imperfection could allow both charges to ignite. The 16th Michigan Volunteers were armed with Lindsay rifle-muskets in 1864 and reported that multiple discharges were common and regularly destroyed their weapons. For this reason, the stacked loads that had been experimented with since at least the 16th century never caught on. Nonetheless, Lindsay’s pistols likely provided an added sense of security for those that carried them, especially given the dangerous nature of American cities in the Civil War era. “
Lot 1237: Lindsay Young-America Two-Shot Pocket Percussion Pistol – Exceptional Factory Engraved Lindsay “Young-America” Two-Shot Pocket Percussion Pistol. (n.d.-s). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved October 5, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/78/1237/lindsay-young-america-two-shot-pocket-percussion-pistol.
