The Colt 1873 at Little Bighorn: An Advantage at Close Range
The Colt 1873 at Little Bighorn: An Advantage at Close Range
Approximately a five-minute read
The Custer Fight by Charles M. Russell, circa 1903, depicts the close-range fighting at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn is remembered as one of the most dramatic defeats in U.S. military history. On June 25 and 26, 1876, warriors from the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho nations fought the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry along the Little Bighorn River in present-day Montana. Five companies under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer were destroyed, while the remaining cavalry units survived a prolonged siege several miles away.
Among the weapons carried by the 7th Cavalry was the Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolver. Although it could not overcome the tactical mistakes and overwhelming opposition faced by Custer’s command, the Colt offered a meaningful advantage when the battle collapsed into fast, chaotic, close-range fighting.
A battle that became dangerously close
Custer divided the 7th Cavalry before attacking a much larger village than his officers had anticipated. Major Marcus Reno led approximately 140 men across the river toward the southern end of the village. When large numbers of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors responded, Reno ordered his troops to dismount and form a skirmish line.
The cavalry initially relied on its Springfield Model 1873 carbines. These long guns were powerful and effective at a distance, but each could fire only one shot before being reloaded. As mounted warriors threatened Reno’s flank, he withdrew first into timber and then ordered a retreat across the river.
The retreat quickly became a close pursuit. According to the National Park Service, warriors rode alongside the fleeing cavalrymen, fired at them from short distances, and sometimes pulled soldiers from their horses. Under those conditions, the battle was no longer a conventional exchange of rifle fire. It had become a running fight in which a compact repeating sidearm could be more practical than a long, single-shot carbine. [National Park Service battle history](https://home.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/battle-story.htm)
What the Colt 1873 brought to the battlefield
The Colt 1873 Single Action Army was a relatively new military sidearm in 1876. The cavalry version was chambered in .45 caliber and normally fitted with a 7½-inch barrel. It used metallic cartridges and had a six-chambered cylinder. “Single action” meant the shooter had to cock the hammer manually before every shot.
The revolver was loaded through a gate at the rear of the cylinder, with empty cases removed individually using an ejector rod. That system made a complete reload slow, but it allowed several shots to be fired before reloading became necessary. [National Park Service overview of the Colt 1873](https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/1873-colt-revolver.htm)
Battlefield archaeology confirms that the .45-caliber Colt Model 1873 was present and used at the Little Bighorn. An extensive archaeological study of the battlefield identified Colt revolver ammunition and parts alongside Springfield carbine evidence. The study concluded that the cavalry used both weapons during the battle and that some captured Army revolvers were later used by Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. [Little Bighorn archaeological report](https://npshistory.com/series/archeology/mwac/tech/124.pdf)
Where the revolver provided an advantage
The Colt’s most important advantage was its suitability for close-order combat.
A Springfield carbine gave a cavalryman greater range, but its length made it awkward during a desperate mounted retreat or when opponents were only a few yards away. The Colt could be drawn and operated with one hand, leaving the other hand available to control a horse. A trooper could also fire several times before stopping to reload.
That distinction mattered during Reno’s retreat. Men were attempting to remount, cross the river, and climb the bluffs while being pursued at close range. In such confusion, the revolver was not simply a backup weapon. It was the firearm best adapted to the physical circumstances of the moment.
The Colt offered three particular advantages:
Compact handling: Its shorter length made it easier to bring into action from horseback, within timber, or among closely packed soldiers and horses.
Several immediately available shots: The cylinder provided multiple rounds before the lengthy reloading process began. This was especially valuable when there was no time to load a single-shot carbine after every discharge.
A self-contained metallic cartridge: The Colt did not require the separate powder, ball, and percussion-cap operations associated with earlier cap-and-ball revolvers. For soldiers operating in dust, heat, and constant movement, the cartridge system simplified the process of keeping a sidearm ready.
A peer-reviewed study devoted specifically to the Colt at the Little Bighorn argues that close-range firearms became important at critical points in the battle and materially affected how the fighting unfolded. [Albert Winkler, “Close-Order Combat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn”](https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/4481/)
The revolver’s usefulness may also have extended to the defensive position established by Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen. Their combined command held the bluffs for roughly 40 hours, enduring an intense attack on June 26 and sporadic firing until relief arrived. The carbine remained the principal defensive weapon, but the Colt gave each soldier a secondary firearm if an opponent reached the perimeter or a carbine became temporarily unavailable. [National Park Service account of Reno’s battalion](https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/reno-s-battalion.htm)
An advantage, but not a battle winner
It is important not to exaggerate what the Colt accomplished. The Single Action Army had serious limitations. Its effective role was primarily at short range, its hammer had to be cocked before every shot, and reloading required cartridges to be inserted one at a time. Once its readily available rounds were exhausted, the Colt offered little help during a sustained attack.
More importantly, a good sidearm could not compensate for the larger problems facing the 7th Cavalry. Custer divided his regiment, underestimated the size of the village, and attacked before the different elements of his command could effectively support one another. His five companies were surrounded by a much larger force. The National Park Service attributes the destruction of Custer’s immediate command to superior numbers and overwhelming firepower—not to the failure of any single firearm.
The Colts’ advantage was therefore tactical and personal rather than strategic. It gave an individual cavalryman a better chance during the battle’s closest and most chaotic moments. It did not give the 7th Cavalry control of the battlefield.
There is also a final irony. As the fighting progressed, Lakota and Cheyenne warriors recovered carbines and Colt revolvers from fallen soldiers and turned those weapons against the cavalry. The advantages of the Colt did not permanently belong to the side that brought it to the battle.
A weapon suited to the moment
At the Little Bighorn, the Colt 1873 Single Action Army demonstrated why a revolver remained essential even when a cavalryman already carried a carbine. The carbine was the stronger weapon at distance, but the Colt was better suited to mounted pursuit, sudden close combat, and moments when there was no opportunity to reload a single-shot long gun.
It could not reverse the outcome of the battle. What it could do and what made it advantageous was give soldiers several immediately available shots from a compact, powerful sidearm when distance disappeared, and the fighting became personal.