By Mike Cumpston
Photos Mike Cumpston and Johnny Bates
The Aston/Johnson Martial Pistol of 1842
The beginning of the
end of an era.
Leslie Poles Hartley and later Jeff Cooper observed, “The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” At best, we view the past “ … through a glass, darkly,” but nothing serves to clarify the vision as effectively as actually using an artifact from a distant time. A well-preserved Aston/Johnson martial pistol provides a glimpse of the world as it was a century and a half ago.
Five shots at 50' fired one handed. The heavy trigger pull is probably a sensible safety measure for something waved about by horsemen, but it would make 6", 50' accuracy very unusual in actual combat. The addition of four or five buckshot over the ball provides a pattern of a 1' and more at this distance.
In the early 1840s, Henry Aston, Ira N. Johnson and a number of associates set up a factory in Middlefield, Connecticut, to complete a government contract for martial pistols of the 1842 pattern. The smoothbore Aston/Johnson used the same 54-caliber ball as the new Mississippi Rifle from the Eli Whitney Jr. factory. While it was strongly associated with the cavalry of the day, the 1842 was actually a general service pistol along the lines of the British and French percussion handguns adopted the same year and many examples bear naval markings. Some 34,000 pistols saw production by 1850 and, upon completion of the contract, Johnson continued making the pistols under his own name. He filled an order for an additional 10,000 between 1853 and 1855. The Palmetto Armory added 1,000 units to the total.

The Aston/Johnson pistols, in their most familiar role, replaced very similar flintlocks in the saddle holsters of mounted troops. They saw considerable use on the Oregon Trail and in the United States/Mexican war of 1847-48. Issued in pairs, they afforded the Dragoons a couple of extra shots after they discharged their muskets and closed with an enemy.

The 1842 is a sturdy pistol with reinforcing brass mounting and a substantial “ball” capping the butt to serve as a cudgel. Many surviving pistols, in otherwise fine condition, have damaged stocks resulting from that practice, or perhaps from over-zealous loading. Our I. N. Johnson is dated 1855 on the lock plate with the barrel tang stamped “1853.” It is not a “parts gun” as such discrepancies in dates are the rule rather than the exception. The wood is free of cracks and the lock components appear to be factory-new. The internal parts are brightly polished except for the bridle, sear and screws which retain the original fire blue. Sighting equipment consists only of the front blade. The smooth bore, the single sight and especially, the 15-plus-pound trigger pull significantly moderated our expectations of gilt-edge accuracy.

Were we to shoot from horseback or the pitching deck of a ship, our effective range would be measured in feet rather than yards. Standing flat-footed, firing from one hand, carefully milking the trigger, our best groups range from 4" to 6" at 50' and do not exceed 1' on our worst day. Johnny Bates took a firm two-handed grip and put all five inside the B27 silhouette at 25 yards. Buck and ball loads consisting of a 54-caliber ball and four or five 31-caliber shot remain on the silhouette from the 50' mark generally landing in patterns of 1' to 18".

Major Frederick Myatt, M.C., in his book, Pistols and Revolvers, lists velocities in the 500 to 550 feet per second range for a wide range of smoothbore martial pistols. We found 30 grains of Goex FFg would drive the .535" patched ball to 532 fps. This is consistent with Myatt’s findings and the results we have obtained with several large-caliber flintlock pistols when using recommended loads. We have also found velocities, point of impact and accuracy remain about the same whether these smoothbore pistols are loaded with patched ball or prepared cartridges with the paper envelop used for wadding. The slow-moving 230-grain ball develops 145 ft-lbs at the muzzle. This is 4 ft-lbs less than the 818 fps .32 S&W Long 100-grain wadcutter load. The ball consistently penetrates 3/4" plywood. It drives about half way through a seasoned pine 2x4. We shot it through a 1" pine board backed with a 2x4. This squashed the ball, blew a large exit hole in the thin board, but the 2x4 stopped it cold. A Model 31 S&W .32 drove the wadcutter bullet through the 1" pine and deep into the thicker board. The Colt revolvers in concurrent development not only surpassed the old single-loader in terms of rapidity of fire, but also afforded profound advantages in terms of range, accuracy and raw power. Nevertheless, the lethality of the .54 caliber smoothbore was firmly established by several centuries of mayhem accomplished with pistols having similar ballistics.

Mike shot the Model 1842 one-handed at 50'. Accuracy was acceptable for a smoothbore. No mean feat with a 15-pound trigger.
Over penetration was clearly not an issue as our Pattern 1842 pistol’s 230-grain roundball offered penetration of only one 1" pine board, but not the 2x4 behind it.
The Lock appears to be in factory-new condition right down to the delicate fire blue on the sear, bridle, and screws. This indicates the heavy trigger pull is original and not the result of later repairs or modification.
The 1842 Aston/Johnson was the first percussion martial pistol adopted for general issue by the United States. It replaced a similar flintlock pistol from the late 1830s. The lockplate date identifies this as a late production pistol. Barrel tangs often bear different and earlier dates.
Loading Sequence
Of The Aston/Johnson Martial Pistol

Making sure no embers remained in the barrel, Mike used a flask with
30-grain spout. A spent .45-70 case is a safer way to transfer powder.

The .535" ball with .010" patch was a good fit. Original pistols were
loaded in this manner or with paper cartridges containing powder and ball.
After tearing the paper, the shooter would decant the powder into the barrel
and then stuff the ball in using the cartridge paper as wadding.

The hinged ramrod is an identifying feature of martial
pistols. They were a lot harder to lose.

The musket caps provided positive ignition.

Recoil of the shot is gentle as the ball travels a leisurely 530 fps or so.

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August 2007 issue

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