.45 Schofield - History

History

This cartridge was originally designed as a black powder round. This revolver was patented in the USA on 20 June 1871 and 22 April 1873 by Smith and Wesson. It was a Smith and Wesson Model 3 that was modified by Major George Schofield to make it easier for a cavalryman to reload while riding. While the Colt 45 had more power, the speed at which a cavalryman could reload a Schofield was less than 30 seconds, half of the time for a Colt 45. By 1879, the U. S. Army had purchased 8,285 of the revolvers. Due to its lesser power and recoil compared to the Colt .45, it became the standard cartridge of the Army, though the Colt 1873 still was the main issue side arm of the Army.

The .45 Schofield cartridge was shorter than the .45 Long Colt. It could be used in both the Schofield and the Colt 45 Peacemaker, but the .45 Long Colt was too long to use in the Schofield. As a result, by the 1880s the army finally standardized on a .45 cartridge designed to fire in both revolvers, the M1887 Military Ball Cartridge. The M1887 was made at Frankford Arsenal, and was issued only to the military. It had a shortened case and reduced rim; as it was short enough to fit the Schofield, and its rim was not needed for the rod-ejector Single Action Army, the M1887 would fire and eject from both revolvers.

The Schofield was quite a popular handgun in the old west, and may have been used by General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. It has been claimed that had all of Custer's men had the Schofield revolver, the results at the Little Big Horn may have been different. This is not likely, however, since the Indians significantly outnumbered Custer and his men and were well armed.

The Indians also had model 1860 Henry repeating rifles that held 15 rounds of .44 rimfire cartridges, giving the operator 14 more shots than the soldiers without the need to reload. Custer's men were armed with single-shot .45-70 trapdoor carbines.