Inscribed revolver may connect Jim Bridger to military history

While much of Jim Bridger's history comes directly from Wyoming, an antique gun shop in Arizona may hold more information about the mountain man's influential past.

David Jonas and his wife Patty have been dealers in antique and collectible firearms since 2005. They started their store, Old World Guns LLC in Camp Verde, Arizona, as a retirement business, although Jonas said it's been more work than a typical retirement business. The shop specializes in old and unusual firearms, and Jonas enjoys looking into their history. So when someone moving out of town was getting rid of things and asked if Jonas was interested in buying an old revolver, he said yes. Jonas thought the gun itself was interesting, even though he didn't understand the inscription - he had no idea who "J. Bridger" might be.

Starting by researching the gun itself, Jonas realized it is a Model 1848 1st Model Dragoon made by Colt and is one of 1,000 shipped to the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons as part of a military contract from 1849-1850, according to available Colt Military Records research. The next step was to figure out who the owner was.

The originality of the inscription on the backstrap of the revolver is backed by notarized documentation Jonas has in possession dating back 100 years, so the authenticity wasn't in question, only the identity of this specific "J. Bridger." As Jonas began to research, Jim Bridger's name came up everywhere. While the famous mountain man fit the timeframe the revolver came from, Jonas wanted to be sure the gun was his.

A discussion Jonas had with one of Fort Bridger Museum's experts suggested that this revolver would need connection with the 2nd Regiment which originally issued the guns, and that the revolver would likely being owned by a prominent person. Guns with inscriptions typically belonged to officers or individuals with some esteem, Jonas explained.

After extensive research of available records of military personnel associated with the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons from 1850-1860 when the revolver was issued, Jonas found no matches with the last name Bridger and a first initial of J. The only other possible J. Bridger Jonas could find who might have owned the gun was Joseph Bridger, Jim Bridger's nephew. Joseph Bridger was a prominent figure, being a sheriff in San Bernardino County during 1857 and 1858. However, Joseph had no connection to the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons, so it made little sense for the regiment to have given him a revolver. Additionally, the revolver isn't the type of gun a sheriff would be likely to carry.

As all the evidence continued to point toward Jim Bridger as the owner of the gun, that certainty solidified in Jonas's mind once he realized Bridger did in fact have a close connection to the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons.

"We found [Bridger's] connection with the 2nd Regiment was with the Mormon Campaign," Jonas explained. "And that was commanded by Albert Sidney Johnson, which got even more interesting."

Johnson was a famous military leader in three different armies - the Texas army, the US Cavalry and the Confederate army as a general during the Civil War, according to Jonas. Johnson was also the colonel in charge of the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons and led the regiment during the Utah Campaign, also known as the Mormon War, which was a confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US government from 1857 to 1858. During the Utah Campaign, Bridger served as a scout and guide for US forces.

"The more I started looking into that, it turns out that Albert Sidney Johnson considered Jim Bridger indispensable during the campaign," Jonas said, explaining the regiment was stranded in the mountains during the winter, and the survival of 2,500 troops is mostly attributed to Bridger's expertise from living in the mountains.

"Jim Bridger is probably one of the main reasons that it didn't turn out worse," Jonas said.

The close connection between Bridger and Johnson and the 2nd Regiment during the Utah Campaign is explained in books like "The Utah Expedition, 1857-1858," which Jonas has been reading in his research on the revolver.

Jonas has found research suggesting Bridger went with Johnson to Washington D.C. to meet with President James Buchanan regarding the Utah Campaign as well. Additionally, much of the reason the campaign started may have been based on Bridger's reports from the time when he served as a guide for the Mormons before he and Brigham Young had a falling out and Brigham put out a warrant for Bridger's arrest, Jonas said. Other books also record Bridger's importance to the campaign and note he was always included in meetings with the top leaders.

It is also well-documented Johnson gave Bridger the honorary rank of Major during the Utah Campaign. Jonas said this type of promotion was unprecedented for a scout since he wasn't officially a part of the army, and such a promotion would require a special favor and shows Bridger's importance. Jonas also believes this promotion explains why Bridger would be armed with an Army-issued revolver, since the campaign was particularly dangerous and he was working directly with the military. Jonas also noted the weapon inventory for the regiment would be under the control of the commanding officer.

"I'm starting to believe that it was directly given to him by Johnson," Jonas said of the gun.

Further evidence suggesting the revolver did belong to Bridger comes from the fact that the book "Jim Bridger: Mountain Man" by Stanley Vestal directly talks about Bridger fighting with a revolver. Jonas also noted the sights on the revolver in his possession were modified "in order to shoot a little more accurately with what we would call mountain-man style sights."

Based on all the available evidence, Jonas is 95% certain the revolver he has did belong to Bridger, and so far he hasn't found contrary evidence.

"Me and a lot of other fellow collectors, we don't really have any doubts that everything fits with Jim Bridger," he said.

The existence of the revolver points to Bridger's importance not only as a scout and mountain man but as an influential aid to the military.

Jonas plans on traveling to Montana this summer and will bring the revolver with him so he can stop at places like Fort Bridger and Fort Laramie to show the gun to experts and continue his research in authenticating its connection to Bridger.