Recently our local newspaper carried a flier from a Fort Collins firm which offered limited-edition collector firearms that provide “Colorado families with the opportunity to display their heritage” and to “preserve your roots.”
So I looked for a replica of some pioneer firepower, like a Spencer carbine. What I found was a “24-karat gold limited edition Ruger .44 magnum.” Since the .44 magnum cartridge dates back only to 1956, it can’t be much of a “preserve your roots” piece, no matter how much Colorado symbolism — flag, mountains, motto — is etched on the revolver.
Further, I was surprised to read that “The splendor of the state [Colorado] served as the inspiration for our national anthem.” Really? The view from Pikes Peak inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write the words to “America the Beautiful” in 1893. But it is not our national anthem.
That distinction belongs to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The tune comes from a bawdy English drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven.” Our lyrics were written by Francis Scott Key after seeing British forces bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor during the night of Sept. 13, 1814. No amber waves of grain there, but the weapons that inspired our national anthem were Congreve rockets (“the rockets’ red glare”) and shrapnel shells (“bombs bursting in air”).
At that time, much of Colorado wasn’t even in the United States. Only one American military party, Lt. Zebulon Pike’s small expedition of 1806-07, had visited. If you were selling genuine Colorado heritage firearms, you might start there.
Judging from Pike’s journal, with its accounts of misfires, broken locks and bent barrels, his firearms were neither sturdy nor reliable. Most likely they were .54-caliber Model 1803 flintlocks from the Harper’s Ferry arsenal.
But historians still aren’t sure what arms Pike’s crew bore, and so an enterprising but accurate heritage replica merchant would have to start later. In the interest of honest history, I’ll provide some promotional copy:
“Some say Winchester, others say Colt. But the gun that really won the West was the mountain howitzer, and now you can savor this vital part of our Colorado heritage with this authentic replica Model 1841 12-pound Mountain Howitzer. The 38-inch barrel, with its smooth 4.65-inch bore, is cast of solid bronze and is polished to gleaming perfection. Comes with functioning carriage and full-size cannonballs. You, too, can delight in the same powerful portable cannon that accompanied Col. John M. Chivington and the First Colorado Volunteers to their smashing victory at Sand Creek on Nov. 29, 1864.”
Or for those who want something smaller: “The next time you’re invited to slaughter bison in Colorado’s majestic South Park, celebrate your pioneer heritage with this replica Sharps .45-90, the gun that reduced the original American herd from millions to a few hundred buffalo, in just 20 years.”
And for those concerned about labor unions: “Make sure your uppity employees know exactly what you think of them with this exact replica of the Colt-Browning M1895 gas-operated machine gun. Yes, that’s right — an important part of our Colorado heritage, the very same automatic weapon that the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency mounted on its ‘Death Special’ custom armored car to keep those striking immigrant miners in line at Ludlow in 1914. Your commemorative collector edition comes with a glass display case and custom etchings depicting the heroic stand taken by the noble defenders as they boldly faced women and children hiding under tents.”
At first, I wondered why some firearms merchant would make stuff up, when we have so much real Colorado firearms heritage. But then again, what we have may not be all that useful for modern marketing purposes.
Ed Quillen (ed@cozine.com) is a freelance writer, history buff, publisher of Colorado Central Magazine in Salida and frequent contributor to The Post.
