M1849 Colt Pocket. 1862. Serial number 211xxx. Butt strap engraved "G.W. L. Reed." Barrel finely engraved "Colts Patent No. 11356" among vignettes of soldiers. The standard two-line "COLT'S / PATENT" mark is on the lower front edge of the left of the frame. Serial number stamped four times to frame and butt strap. 

1862 manufacture date, tying it close to Reed’s date of enlistment. Good condition, with gray patina and some faded blue in protected areas. The grips show handling marks and scratches on the bottom of the butt, along with one minor chip. Traces of cylinder scene remain. Loading lever assembly in place. Mechanically functional. Nice tone to the brass.

Reed was 32 when he enlisted as a sergeant on 6 August 1862 and mustered into Co. A of the 33rd Massachusetts. The date of his enlistment corresponds closely to the manufacturer date of this revolver. 

Reed transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps on 1 October 1863, was assigned to the 63rd Co., 2nd Battalion, and was formally discharged from the 33rd Mass. on 15 March, 1865. After the war he lived in Taunton, Massachusetts, where he died in 1925.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Firearm, Colt, Pistol, Revolver, Rifle, Musket, Smith and Wesson, Springfield]

Mechanically sound.