Closing Column

Pistols’ Overseas Odyssey Gives Professor a Shot at Determining Origin

By Meghan C. Budinger
Assistant Director and Curator, James Monroe Museum, located in downtown Fredericksburg and administered by UMW

It is not often that a curator in a history museum has the task of writing about present-day science and technology. My subject revolves around a recent event here at the James Monroe Museum that was quite unusual for us. Within our collection, we have a pair of dueling pistols that came to us with an interesting story. The pistols, once owned by James Monroe, date to circa 1815 and were apparently made in the area of present-day Argentina. 

The story goes that General Ignacio Alvarez, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata (a confederation of several modern South American nations, including Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay), commissioned the brace of pistols to be made from meteoric iron found in the Campo del Cielo crater in Argentina. He then presented the pistols to President James Madison in homage to the leader of another “free government.” Unfortunately, at the time of General Alvarez’s presentation, the United States had not officially recognized the United Provinces as a governmental entity, due to the fact that the South American Wars of Independence were ongoing. Madison, hoping to avoid any sort of international embarrassment, had the pistols placed in the State Department and quietly thanked General Alvarez for his gift. 

How the pistols came into James Monroe’s possession is subject of some speculation. It is possible that Madison gave the pistols to Monroe as a gift on any one of several occasions, such as in honor of Monroe’s bravery during the War of 1812 or upon Monroe’s own inauguration as the fifth president. It is also possible that when the United States did officially recognize Argentinean independence in 1823, Monroe had the pistols removed from the State Department and officially accepted them.

Over the last six months, the story of these pistols has taken an interesting twist. Last fall, Evelyne Godfrey, an instructor in UMW’s Department of Historic Preservation, contacted the James Monroe Museum. A specialist in historic metals, she had been asked to present a paper on a topic of her choice at an upcoming metals conference in Europe. Godfrey was intrigued by the pistols and their unique metal composition of meteoric iron. She proposed putting the pistols through a battery of scientific tests that would analyze their composition on the molecular level, using various types of high-tech equipment available in only a few labs in the world.

     In order to have the tests performed, the pistols would have to be sent to Oxford, England; Munich, Germany; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They would be put through a radiation process and would then have to remain in a sealed chamber for at least three weeks, until their radiation level dropped, thereby making them safe to handle and be allowed to pass through customs. Curators, as a general rule, do not like people standing too close to their precious objects, let alone someone wanting to irradiate them! However, I was curious, and the use of the European labs was a rare opportunity.

     So, the museum’s duo of dueling pistols was sent abroad just before Christmas. We received a few updates over the next few weeks, letting us know the pistols were still in one piece. We also learned that, among the Munich scientists accustomed to examing rocks and metal deposits mined from the Earth, the firearms had become something of a sensation at the lab. Throughout the pistols’ stay in Germany, they became “rock star” objects and had many curious onlookers as the battery of tests was performed. Finally, it was time for the pistols to come home, and for Godfrey to reveal the findings.

First, Godfrey was able to obtain a piece of the meteor from the Campo del Cielo crater in Argentina and run identical tests on it. By comparing the analysis of our pistols and the meteor sample, she could debunk the theory that the pistols were made from the iron found at Campo del Cielo; in fact, she discovered, they contained no meteoric iron at all. She also found that the intricate decoration and metal inlay on the wooden handles and metal barrels of the pistols were not made of silver as we had always thought – actually, it is a highly polished tin alloy. Through three-dimensional neutron radiographs, Godfrey could also answer another of our long-standing questions: Were they actual, working guns, capable of being fired? The answer turns out to be yes.

What do all these findings mean? The research unveiled as many questions as answers.

Does the fact that the pistols are not made of iron from the Campo del Cielo meteorite negate the entire story of the Argentina-Madison-Monroe connection? Not necessarily. Campo del Cielo is one of the largest and oldest meteor craters in South America. It is entirely possible that the pistols were indeed fashioned in the area of present-day Argentina, but from regular cast iron, and Campo del Cielo was simply inserted into the story because of its fame. The finding that the decorative inlay on the pistols is tin rather than silver is a bit of a disappointment, however. Would General Alvarez have presented to a man he revered a gift that was decorated with a cheaper metal made to look expensive? Unlikely, but not impossible.

And what of the internal mechanisms of the pistols? If the guns were meant to be a ceremonial gift, why would they be anything more than decorative? Does General Alvarez’s military connection have something to do with it?

Overall, Godfrey was happy with the results, but she has also decided that she needs more information on the manufacturing of firearms in South America at that time. Additionally, she hopes to be able to track down a third pistol apparently made from Campo del Cielo iron, and presented around the same time to General Miguel Belgrano, the first President of the Republic of Argentina. 

Currently, this pair of dueling pistols is on loan to James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Va., and is displayed in the new Visitor Center there.