Samuel Colt Rescues Failing Gun Company with Mexican War Government Contract

On January 4, 1847, Connecticut gun manufacturer Samuel Colt rescues the future of his faltering gun company by winning a contract to provide the U.S. government with 1,000 of his .44 caliber revolvers for use in the Mexican-American War. Colt had received a U.S. patent for a revolver mechanism in 1836 that enabled a gun to be fired multiple times without reloading, and founded a company to manufacture his revolving-cylinder pistol; however, sales were slow and the business floundered. Colt’s fortunes change dramatically during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) when Captain Samuel Walker, a Texas Ranger and military officer who had previously used Colt’s revolvers, approaches him with ideas for improvements. Together they design the Colt Walker revolver, a more powerful and reliable firearm tailored for cavalry use—Walker wants an improved version that would hold six bullets, be easier to reload, and be powerful enough to kill a man with a single shot.

The initial contract calls for 1,000 revolvers and accoutrements. Colt commissions Eli Whitney Jr. (son of the cotton gin inventor) to fill the contract and produces an extra 100 revolvers for private sales and promotional gifts to influential recipients including Texas Ranger John Coffee Hays. To fulfill the order, Colt partners with Whitney, who has a firearms factory in Connecticut. This partnership proves crucial—not only does it produce the weapons on time, but it also introduces Colt to the benefits of interchangeable parts and assembly-line production, manufacturing methods that place Colt at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.

The Colt Walker is used extensively in the Mexican-American War and on the Texas frontier. Medical officer John “Rip” Ford takes a special interest in the Walkers when they arrive at Veracruz and obtains two examples for himself, becoming the primary source for information about their combat performance during the war and afterward. Lieutenant Bedley McDonald, a subordinate of Walker at the time Walker is killed in Mexico, states that 30 Rangers use Colt’s revolvers to keep over 300 Mexicans in check—testimonials that serve as powerful marketing for future government contracts. Ever the opportunist, when the war with Mexico ends, Colt sends agents south of the border to procure sales from the Mexican government—selling weapons to both sides of a conflict for maximum profit.

Beginning in 1848, more government contracts follow for what becomes known as the Colt Dragoon Revolver. When Colt dies in 1862, he is one of the wealthiest men in the United States. While the search results do not specifically use the term “profiteering” in relation to Colt’s Mexican War contracts, they highlight how the war revives his failing business and his opportunistic approach to expanding sales—including seeking contracts from the Mexican government after the war ends. The Colt case demonstrates an early example of the military-industrial pattern: wars create opportunities for private manufacturers to profit from government contracts, failed businesses are rescued by military demand, and the same manufacturers often sell to multiple sides of conflicts. This establishes a financial incentive structure where private interests benefit from war, creating potential conflicts of interest that would grow into the military-industrial complex of the 20th century.