Forehand & Wadsworth Swamp Angel
Forehand & Wadsworth · Revolver · Discontinued · 1871
Also known as: F&W Swamp Angel, Swamp Angel .41 RF
Overview
The Forehand & Wadsworth Swamp Angel is a single-action, solid-frame pocket revolver built in Worcester, Massachusetts in the 1870s and 1880s. Chambered for the .41 Short Rimfire cartridge, it holds five rounds in a non-fluted cylinder freed for loading by withdrawing the center pin, fires from a center hammer through a sheathed spur trigger, and wears a short octagonal barrel stamped 'SWAMP ANGEL'. Sturdier and better finished than the cheapest 'suicide special' pocket revolvers of its day, it was a popular concealable defensive arm of the Old West era.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 280 g (9.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 165 mm (6.50") |
| Barrel Length | 70 mm (2.76") |
| Action Type | Single Action Revolver |
| Firing Mechanism | Single Action |
| Trigger Type | Sheathed Trigger |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Revolving Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 130 m/s (427 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 71 J (52 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 10 m (11 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .41 Short Rimfire · primary — also known as .41 Short, .41 Rimfire Short, .41 RF
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
- Features: Solid Frame, Spur Trigger, Fixed Sights, Birds Head Grip, Octagonal Barrel, Removable Cylinder Pin
Service history
Operators
- American civilian market
Production
Production years: 1871-1890
Sold widely on the American civilian market; total output not precisely recorded. Forehand & Wadsworth merged into Hopkins & Allen in 1902.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Sullivan Forehand
Discontinued: 1890
Notes
The 'Swamp Angel' name was borrowed from a famous Union siege cannon used against Charleston during the American Civil War. The hand-held extractor pin stores inside the cylinder arbor when not in use.
Background
Sullivan Forehand and Henry Wadsworth, sons-in-law of famed gunmaker Ethan Allen, took over his Worcester firm after his death in 1871 and proudly marked their full name on the Swamp Angel to distinguish it from the anonymous 'suicide specials' that flooded the post-war pocket-revolver market.