The Philadelphia Derringer which influenced history.

[Mike Wood]

The Philadelphia Deringer was a small percussion handgun designed by Henry Deringer and produced from 1852 through 1868. On April 14, 1865 one of these handguns was used by John Wilkes Booth who shot our beloved President as he was enjoying the play "Our American Cousin," at Fords Theatre in Washington D.C.

[Mike Wood]

Refer to the Old West Firearms Collectors Group "The Booth Derringer - Genuine Artifact or Replica"

[Juha Nakari]

yep, .44 caliber single-shot, muzzle-loading percussion cap handgun.  The ball weighted nearly an ounce and hit the president little below the ear and lodged itself behind the right eye.

[anthony martin]

  Juha,

   I seem to remember that Booth's  deringer was .41 calibre.The popularity of this calibre was widely emulated by many of Henry Deringer's competitors and became a standard  chambering for many years.

[C. F. 'Charley' Eckhardt]

In 1866 Remington began offering a 2-shot, over/under pocket pistol which it called a 'derringer' in advertising.  The purpose, of course, was to cash in on the definitely-unwanted notoriety Booth's use of a Henry Deringer pocket pistol to shoot Lincoln brought to Deringer.  Remington hoped to avoid dispute by not capitalizing the word & rolling in the extra 'r.'

 

It didn't work.  Deringer sued Remington for trademark infringement.  The suit dragged on for 10 years, but Deringer eventually won & was awarded substantial damages.  However, he died before he could collect.  Remington returned to court, admitting--belatedly--that it had damaged Deringer with its trademark infringement, but arguing that it had not damaged Deringer's heirs with the act.  The court agreed, set aside the damages, & Deringer's heirs never got a cent.

[anthony martin]

Charley,

     Newspaper accounts from the mid 1850's refer to the small gun as a derringer.That misspelling had become something of a commonplace by the time the Remington over and under was introduced in 1866.Henry Deringer became litiginous with all who stepped on his turf out of sheer necessity.His own former employee Slotter made exact duplicates of his pistols and others did too ,often duplicating the markings.

 

 

[Mike Wood]

So, the question remains... What other famous or infamous stories in history are part of the Derringer?  The Baby Philadephia is the most infamous....  What about the Remington Double D?  Are there any other western figures who were known to have carried or used this weapon besides John Dillinger?  Again I invite all to join the Group "Old West Firearms Collectors" on this site.

 

[Morgan]

Doc. Holliday was reported to carry a Remington Double Derringer for a time.

[anthony martin]

  Buffalo Bill Cody owned a pair of silver mounted Henry Derringer muzzle stuffers and was known to gift Remington 1866's to others from time to time.One that he owned and later gave away had ivory grips with gold buffalos on them.There is a Colt 45 single action(blued,7 1/2 barrel) that was reputedly Holliday's and I've read that he used a .41 double action Colt in Leadville.He was also supposed to have given a Remington over and under to Kate Elder.If memory serves correctly both Presidents James Garfield and William McKinley were shot by respectively Charles Guiteau and Leon Czolgosz with Remington double shot deringers.

[Mike Wood]

Hey Anthony,  May I ask where you found that information on Buffalo Bill Cody? 

[Mike Wood]

Interesting you don't hear this story too often: On October 14th, 1914, President Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when a mentally deranged man, John Schrank pulled a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and shot Roosevelt square in the chest. Lucky enough, some of the bullet’s power was slowed down by a folded paper copy of his speech and a tin case for his eyeglasses. The bullet still penetrated three inches deep through his ribcage and chest muscles yet did not touch lungs or heart. His knowledge of ballistics and anatomy guessed that right. After the shooting pandemonium struck, people panicked off and staff wanted to have him evacuated. Of all people, Roosevelt himself calmed everyone down firmly but smiling: ‘I got shot! Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose!” He did not only refused being taken to the hospital but with blood flowing trough his shirt, he delivered a full 90 minutes campaign speech that day. Only after, he saw medical attention, who just as expected by him, reccomended to leave the bullet inside as it would do more damage if removed. The president lived his entire life afterwards with that bullet lodged in his chest!   That my friends is a President! 

Read: My-Hunt.com

[anthony martin]

  Yep,Teddy is my favorite president.My grandfather campaigned for him during the 1912 Bull Moose run and had the chance to chat with him from time to time.Gramps was tough and very old school and always referred to Roosevelt as" a real man,not one of those effete,dissembling,pantywaist politicians."This was usually his way of describing the breed.Have you ever listened to T.R.?I've a cylinder by him and his voice sounds rather east coast patrician.Icould well imagine his ranch hand's mirth when he told them to"Hasten forward quickly!"

   As for the Bill Cody source-some derives from Dean K. Boorman's Guns of the Old West and the rest from some rather old books and articles by Hank Wieand Bowman ca.LATE 40'S- 60'S.I'll try to dig those out for you.

[Mike Wood]

Thank you my friend!  I would be very interested in looking at both...  I visited San Antonio two years back, and heard stories of Teddy as he thought of and formed the Rough Riders in the Bar of the Historic Menger Hotel. This Hotel sits right next to the Alamo.