Civil War for the day

Steve Warren, of the Union League of Philadelphia, puts out a daily email, usually with a photo, and today's is a Dance revolver:

The photo is of a J.H. Dance and Brothers Army revolver, made in Columbia, Texas from 1863 to 1865. Dance made two models of the revolver, an Army style in .44 caliber (above) and a .36 caliber Navy model. Both were pretty much copies of period Colt pistols.

Civil War firearms manufactured by J. H. Dance and Company are among the most highly prized antique weapons, valued for their fine craftsmanship as well as their rarity. From July of 1862 through May of 1865, the company produced six-shot Colt-pattern revolvers in both .44 and .36 caliber; total output was fewer than four hundred. The Dance family, originally residents of North Carolina, moved to Daniels Prairie in Greene County, Alabama, around 1835. In 1848, James Henry Dance traveled to Brazoria County in Texas and, in 1853, he moved to Texas with most of his family, including father, brothers, cousins, and slaves.
The family jointly purchased 450 acres of land in the Cedar Brake section, where they established a plantation. In 1858 they built a spacious home in the thriving river-port town of East Columbia, on the Brazos River. Across the street from their residence they opened a manufactory for metal and woodwork, named J. H. Dance and Company and operated by James Henry Dance and his brothers David Etheldred and George Perry. J. H. Dance and Company prospered even before the Civil War, manufacturing gristmills and cotton gins.
At the outbreak of the war, James Dance enlisted in the Brazoria Volunteers; he later became first lieutenant in the Thirty-fifth Texas Cavalry. His brothers George, David, and Isaac also enlisted but, because of their abilities and skills, they were detailed to their steam factory at Columbia by early May of 1862. Isaac died of measles in 1863. Initially the Dances' primary tasks were mounting cannons and repairing wagons for the Confederate army and grinding cornmeal for the Bates Company.
In April of 1862, George Dance wrote Governor F. R. Lubbock, requesting an advance of $5,000. He claimed that this sum would enable the Dances to begin firearm production with an output of fifty revolvers a week. Evidently they received some aid, for, on 5 July 1862, a letter written by George's cousin, Mattie Duff, states that "the boys think they will soon get some three or four of their pistols finished." While production may have been at a somewhat slower pace than originally anticipated, by 2 October 1862, the Dances were able to ship a dozen revolvers to the San Antonio Arsenal.
By November of 1863, the Dances had decided to sell their business to the Confederate government. Cousin Mattie wrote that "the boys think it quite possible they will quit the shop soon", and added that George had left for Houston "to see if he could make a government affair of it." Further, "he thinks perhaps it will be done". Revolver production had come to an end in East Columbia by 10 December 1863, and Mattie wrote that she had been "in town all week helping the boys to leave".
The federal occupation of Matagorda Island, located just off the Texas coast near Brazoria County, prompted the belief that the county was about to be invaded. The Confederate government doubtless wanted to consolidate the Dances' skills farther inland and out of harm's way. The Dances relocated to a site three miles north of Anderson in Grimes County, and here the Confederate government built a powder mill and pistol factory.
On 7 February 1864, Mattie Duff received word from Uncle Harrison that "they were not quite ready for making pistols but soon will." One of the last known shipments of Dance revolvers took place on 18 April 1865; a lot of twenty-five six-shot pistols was sent from Anderson to the Depot of Supplies in Houston. At the end of the war, the Dances closed the Anderson facility and returned to East Columbia to restore their factory, while adding the manufacture of furniture. The 1900 hurricane ruined the factory. It was never rebuilt.
Today, Texas Historical Marker #8603 marks the site of the J. H. Dance and Company's facility. If anyone happens to own one of their less than five hundred manufactured pistols they not only have a valuable, sought after, and desirable firearm but an historic piece of Texas history. It is estimated that they manufactured about 350 of the .44 caliber revolvers and about 135 of the .36 caliber. The factory also produced cannon balls, bayonets, sabers, swords, and gun powder.

Rico says it'd be way too expensive, but he'd like one...