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====1860–1865: American Civil War====
[[File:Coltnewmodles.jpg|thumb|Colt Navy (top) and Army Models from 1861 and 1860]]
The New York Daily Tribune denounced Colt and his company by asserting, “the traitors have found sympathizers among us, men base enough to sell arms when they knew they would be… in the hands of the deadly enemies of the Union… Col. Colt’s manufactory can turn probably 1,000 a week and has been doing so for the past four months for the South.”<ref name="auto1">Hosley, William N. Colt : The Making of an American Legend. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996. 96.</ref> This article even chided the Federal Government for not taking action against Colt: “Every man who makes arms should be watched, and if he will not work for a fair equivalent for the Government, his manufactory should be taken away from him.”<ref name="auto1"/> Despite secession and growing tensions between the North and the South, “Colt’s sales to Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi in 1860 alone were at least $61,000 (today’s equivalent of about 3.35 million).”<ref>Hosley, William N. Colt : The Making of an American Legend. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996. 95.</ref> Until just days before the first shot at Fort Sumter, Colt received orders from various states, some participating in secession. In his memoir on Colt, written in 1866, Henry Barnard reported, “before the rebellion broke out, Col. Colt, foreseeing that his weapons must ere long be in double demand, had made all preparations to extend his factory.”<ref>Barnard, Henry. Armsmear: The Home, the Arm, and the Armory of Samuel Colt: A Memorial, New York: Alvord Printer, 1866. 213.</ref>▼
The [[American Civil War]] was a boon to firearms manufacturers such as Colt's, and the company thrived during the conflict. Sam Colt had carefully developed contacts within the ordnance department, signing the very first government contract for 25,000 rifles. Colt's Factory was described as "an industrial palace topped by a blue dome", powered by a 250-horsepower [[steam engine]].<ref name=kinard154>Kinard (2004) p.154</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], Colt had 1,500 employees who produced 150,000 muskets and pistols a year. In 1861 and 1863, the company sold 107,000 of the [[Colt Army Model 1860]] alone, with production reaching 200,500 by the end of the war in 1865.<ref>{{harvnb|Flayderman|2007|p=94}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Curiosities of the Civil War: Strange Stories, Infamous Characters and Bizarre Events |first=Webb |last=Garrison |publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59555-359-1 |page=452}}</ref>
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The company found itself in a precarious situation. The original revolver patents had expired, allowing other companies to produce copies of his designs. Additionally, metallic cartridge revolvers were gaining in popularity, but Colt could not produce any because of the [[Rollin White]] patent held by rival [[Smith & Wesson]]. Likewise, Colt had been so protective of its own patents that other companies had been unable to make revolvers similar to their design. As the Rollin White patent neared expiration, Colt moved to develop its own metallic cartridge revolver.<ref name=walter157>{{cite book|title=The Guns That Won the West: Firearms on the American Frontier, 1848–1898 |first=John|last=Walter |page=157|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|year=2006 |isbn=978-1-85367-692-5}}</ref>
▲The New York Daily Tribune denounced Colt and his company by asserting, “the traitors have found sympathizers among us, men base enough to sell arms when they knew they would be… in the hands of the deadly enemies of the Union… Col. Colt’s manufactory can turn probably 1,000 a week and has been doing so for the past four months for the South.”<ref name="auto1">Hosley, William N. Colt : The Making of an American Legend. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996. 96.</ref> This article even chided the Federal Government for not taking action against Colt: “Every man who makes arms should be watched, and if he will not work for a fair equivalent for the Government, his manufactory should be taken away from him.”<ref name="auto1"/> Despite secession and growing tensions between the North and the South, “Colt’s sales to Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi in 1860 alone were at least $61,000 (today’s equivalent of about 3.35 million).”<ref>Hosley, William N. Colt : The Making of an American Legend. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996. 95.</ref> Until just days before the first shot at Fort Sumter, Colt received orders from various states, some participating in secession. In his memoir on Colt, written in 1866, Henry Barnard reported, “before the rebellion broke out, Col. Colt, foreseeing that his weapons must ere long be in double demand, had made all preparations to extend his factory.”<ref>Barnard, Henry. Armsmear: The Home, the Arm, and the Armory of Samuel Colt: A Memorial, New York: Alvord Printer, 1866. 213.</ref>
====1865–1880s: Post–Civil War====
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