Leech & Rigdon

Thomas Leech and Charles Rigdon began making revolvers in Columbus, Mississippi. They secured a contract with the Confederate Government to manufacture 1500, .36 caliber revolvers. The revolvers were to copy Samuel Colt’s Navy revolver. They did begin production in Columbus, but made less than two hundred revolvers before the threat of capture in late 1862 forced them to move their manufactory to Selma, Alabama, and then on to Greensboro, Georgia, in the first months of 1863. In December of 1863, Leech and Rigdon dissolved their contract. At this time only about a 1000 revolvers out of the original 1500 contracted for had been delivered.