Colt Model 1892 US Army DA .38

• Action: Double Action Only
• Swing out 6 round cylinder
• Barrel Length: 6"
• Weight: 2lbs
• Cartridge Caliber: .38 Long Colt Black-powder (146 grain lead bullet)
• Muzzle Velocity: 750 fps
• Service: 1892 - 1908

Side arm issued to nearly all US military branches in 1892 in order to replace the .45 S&W Schofield revolver as well as the Colt 1873 SAA .45 revolvers. The double action was considered to be a break through in firearm technology and an improvment to single action handguns. It is important to note, many old .45 revolvers were still kept in service up to the issue of the Colt M1911 auto pistol. The smaller .38 caliber performed miserably once it saw action during the Philippine Campaign; failing to adequately stop/drop an assailant from charging. Namely the Pulajanes of the Visayas region and the Juramentado Moros. Officers serving in the Philippines would issue a recall and send requests for the old issued .45 revolvers. The .38s were soon replaced by old service revolvers like the 1878 Alaskan Colt. Colt would later manufacture an updated .45 revolver in 1909; and a few years later, the ever popular M1911 Colt .45ACP auto pistol.




US Cavalry Soldiers posing with Colt .38 revolvers and Krag Carbines.

Colt 1902 Philippine Model Double Action .45LC

• Barrel length: 6"
• Capacity: 6 round cylinder
• Cartridge Caliber: .45 LC(Long Colt)
• Weight: 2 lbs
• Service: 1878-1892; 1902-1908

 Originally issued as: 1878 Colt Alaskan Revolver

Adopted earlier in 1878 by US soldiers serving in Alaska, the pistol was nearly phased out by the new issued .38 revolvers. At the end of the Philippine-American War the Philippine Scouts, along with US military units, and the Philippine Constabulary(Native Police force) began expeditions and patrolling through Moroland and Visayan territory. There they found new adversaries waiting and lurking in the dense terrain of both regions, namely the Tad-Tad/Pulajanes of Samar/Leyte and the Juramentado Moros. The native police force were poorly equipped with Springfield Trapdoor "single shot" rifles, and a ill performing .38 Colt revolver side arm. Both proved to have insufficient stopping power of a hard charging swarm of combatants. A shot assailant does not necessarily make them incapacitated. Sword welding Moros and Filipinos were known to charge through heavy gun fire and still be capable of slashing and killing. Requests were quickly made for older issued .45 Colt revolvers, and the US government answered by reissuing out the older 1878 Alaskan Colt Revolvers to the Philippine Constabulary, re-designating them the 1902 Philippine Model. The .45 revolvers performed up to standard and as expected. The stopping power of the .45 cartridge against Filipinos during this era would result in the US government requesting their newly manufactured and issued sidearm to be chambered in .45. The end result is the M1911 Colt automatic pistol chambered in the newly engineered .45ACP cartridge.

The Model 1902 revolver is unique by the enlarged trigger guard. At the time the new smokeless powder cartridges also required new primers, which took more effort to ignite; and with it required a stronger trigger spring. The trigger pull became immense. Colt modified the trigger group by use of the enlarged trigger guard, which gave more leverage to pull the trigger.

Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Single Shot Rifle

Weight: 9 lbs
Length: 51"
Barrel length: 32"
Cartridge Caliber: .45-70 Blackpowder
Service: 1873-1906


The 1873 Springfield Trapdoor was the first standard issued rifle of the US Army. The rifle is only cabable of firing one shot at a time. Reloading the rifle requires manually opening the breech-block to remove the spent cartridge and incertaining another round. The hinged design on the opening of the breech-block resembled that of a trapdoor, hence the name Trapdoor rifle. They also fired the old black-powder cartridge, which created large amounts of smoke when fired, inherently exposing their position to the enemy.

By the 1890s the Springfield Trapdoor rifle became obsolete and outdated. The US Army had moved on to the Krag rifles that fired smokeless cartridges and had an internal box magazine. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the US Army severally lacked soldiers to fight a foreign country. Volunteers were called from all States and were soon mustered in to fill the roll along side enlisted regular soldiers. At the start of the Philippine-American War, the Volunteers were initially armed with Springfield Trapdoor rifles and carbines. As more Krags were produced, the Trapdoor rifles were phased out. The single shot Trapdoor carbines would be past on to Philippine Scouts(Native scouts) working under the US Army. And in 1901 the Philippine Constabulary(Native Police Force) became established under Taft's Philippine Commission. The Philippine Constabulary officers and inspectors would also be outfitted with the left over Springfield Trapdoor rifles. After the Philippine-American War, the PC's and PS's were left with rounding up all left over insurgents and bandits roaming the country side. The trapdoor rifles were reported by all senior officers as inferior and useless at close quarter combat. PC Chief Henry Allen even requested his officers be given left over captured and surrendered Spanish Remington Rolling Block rifles from Filipino insurgents; which was denied. Both organizations would not see a change in rifles for several more years. In 1906 the Philippine Constabulary replaced their worn out single shot Springfields for Krag Carbines. And in 1907 the Philippine Scouts replaced their single shot rifles with Springfield M1903s.

The loading hing on the breech-block that soldiers gave reference to as a trap-door.

20th Kansas Volunteers firing with Trapdoor rifles outside of Manila, 1899.

Spanish Mauser Model 1893 Bolt Action Rifle

• Manufactured: Loewe Berlin Germany
• Weight: 8.6lb
• Barrel length: 29"
• Cartridge Caliber: 7mm (7x57mm) Smokeless
• Service in Spanish Army: Since 1893

The 1893 Mauser bolt action rifle is considered by many to be one of the most revolutionary firearms in history and way ahead of it's era. Accuracy of the rifle being unmatched during its time. The Mauser rifle saw little improvements to its design through out its service. It would be used by nearly all countries up to and during the second world war. Even by todays standards it is considered extremely accurate next to modern firearms. Nearly all bolt action rifles produced today take some design from the Mauser rifle. The 7mm round created a distinctive sound when whizzing by, the American soldiers called it the "Spanish Hornet".

Spain contracted Mauser in Loewe Berlin to produce these rifles for their entire military in the early 1890s. The Mauser were to replace outdated rifles like the Remington Rolling Block. The Mauser later shined and gained an infamous reputation during the Spanish American War at Cuba. The Battle of San Juan Hill would be the most famous battle of the Spanish-American War, as well as being the turning point of the war. 800 Spanish soldiers held the hill against an opposing force made up of nearly 20,000 armed men. 15,000 being made of US Soldiers armed with Krags and Springfield Trapdoor rifles. Although the fight lasted only 2 days and the US gained control of the hill, the end result was near disastrous for the Americans. 200 US soldiers lay dead with 1,100 being wounded. The Spanish resulted in only 58 deaths and 170 wounded. The Spanish Mauser rifle was quickly noted by the US military and the US government for its lethality and superiority in this one battle.

At the same time in the Philippines, the 2nd phase of the Revolution was in motion and the Philippine Army trampled across the Spanish troops through out the islands. The Filipinos began to equip themselves with captured and left over Spanish firearms. They would also account for the superior performance in the Mauser. Each battalion would have a separate special unit of expert riflemen/snipers(known as Tiradors); and all were to be armed with nothing but Mauser rifles. The most popular Filipino riflemen unit being under the command of General Geronimo, whom he would name "Tiradores de la Muerte"(Shooters of Death). After the outbreak of the Philippine American War, the Tiradores de la Muerte would gain fame in Dec 1899 when the unit defended the town of San Mateo against 800 US troops under the command of Gen Henry Lawton. On the morning of the battle Lawton walked along the firing line in open field to gain a better view of his troops and the opposing force. The troops noted the distinct firing sound of the Mauser rifles and advised the general to take cover. The general ignored their warning and at that instant was struck in the chest by round fired by one of the tiradores Mauser rifle. Gen Lawton would die with in a few minutes. The rifle shot coming from a distance of 300 yards during a storm with rain.

Also during the Spanish American War in the Philippines, in the town of Baler a small detachment of 50 Spanish soldiers barracked themselves inside the towns fortified church. Lt Col Teodorico Luna(relative of Juan and Antonio Luna) would lead the attack against the Spaniards and surrounded the church. The Spaniards would hold this position from July 1898 to June 1899. During their stand, the Spanish American War would end, America would purchase the islands, and Philippine American War was in full swing. The Spanish troops finally surrendered to the Philippine Army and were received as friendly allies. The dominance of the Mauser rifle was accredited for the 11 month long stand off.

Due to the superiority and success of the Mauser rifle over the newly issued Krag rifles through out the Spanish American War, the US Government took captured Mausers and gave them to Springfield Armory for their own research and development. The US Government would give Springfield Armory the order to build their own Mauser type rifle. In 1900 Springfield had a prototype rifle with similar characteristics of both the Mauser and Krag rifle. The US Government approved the design, and the end result is the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle in 30-06. It should be noted that Springfield Armory at the time was under government control, but in itself was still a separate entity as a firearms manufacturer. The US Government in a way did not purposely copy the designs, but being Springfield Armory fell under the control of the US Government, Mauser took action against the US government and not Springfield Armory. Both Mauser and the US Government realized the similar features and agreed it infringed on Mausers design patents. The US Government willfully agreed to pay royalties to Mauser for patent infringement with out trial.

Company of the Philippine Army. (Circa 1899)
Riflemen standing are armed with Spanish Remington Rolling Block Rifles.
Riflemen kneeling are armed with Spanish 1893 Mauser Rifles.

Early Philippine Constabulary Officers. Originally issued Mausers captured and surrendered by Spanish Troops.