#TheodoreRoosevelt

The revolvers we recently showed you on Wheelgun Wednesday aren’t the only items with an impressive Wild West history that Rock Island is about to auction off. How can you top a revolver owned by George Armstrong Custer and another revolver that appeared at the Battle of Little Bighorn? Here’s how—with a big-bore Hawken rifle owned by Theodore Roosevelt himself, and reportedly by the legendary Kit Carson before that!

In the pantheon of larger-than-life characters from America’s Old West era, few loom larger than Theodore Roosevelt. Prior to his two terms as the 26th US President, from 1901 to 1909, Roosevelt discovered and embraced the Wild West lifestyle, establishing and operating a cattle ranch in North Dakota. In spite of his New York socialite roots, TR learned to cowboy, rope, ride, hunt, and more in the rough country around the Little Missouri river. These experiences served him well when he formed the first volunteer US Cavalry regiment, the Rough Riders, at the outset of the Spanish-American War in 1898. At this time, he was gifted a Smith & Wesson single-action revolver. Rock Island Auction recently sold this historic firearm at auction (along with numerous other interesting pieces), and as you might expect for such a storied gun, it fetched quite a sum – $910,625.

On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot while giving a speech to a crowd in Milwaukee. In a move that secures his place in history as one of the most badass presidents of all time, he declined medical treatment. Instead, he finished his 90-minute speech, bloody shirt and all. Ten days prior to this event, a gift was sent to good ol’ Teddy for his 54th birthday. The gift was a factory engraved Colt Single Action Army revolver. Roosevelt’s Colt recently sold at December 2020 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction which the company called “The Sale of the Century”.