Roswell L. Colt in Paterson on November 22, 1856. Roswell L. Colt Roswell Lyman Colt (1779-1856) was an American businessman who made a fortune in the shipping industry, served for decades as governor of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures, and was an early railroad executive. Colt's parents were Peter Colt (1744-1824) and Sarah Lyman. (Peter's brother was Benjamin Colt (1740-1781), whose grandson would be gunmaker Samuel Colt (1814-1862).) A graduate of Yale University, Peter founded a shipping business that traded with the West Indies, served in the Revolutionary War, served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1790 to 1794, and went on to
Colt Detective Special Colt Detective Special The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2" barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known to gun enthusiasts as "snubnosed revolvers". Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company this model revolver, as the name "Detective Special" suggests, was intended to be concealed weapon used by plainclothes police detectives. Introduced in 1927, the Detective Special was the first short-barreled revolvers produced with a modern swing-out frame. It was designed from the outset to be chambered for higher-powered cartridges such as the .38 Special, considered to be a powerful caliber for a