Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson had…
April 1857 CE
Smith had developed a new Volcanic Cartridge, which he had patented in 1854.
The Smith & Wesson Company was renamed Volcanic Repeating Arms in 1855 and was purchased by Oliver Winchester.
Smith left the company and returned to his native Springfield, Massachusetts, while Wesson stayed on as plant manager with Volcanic Repeating Arms.
Winchester forced the insolvency of the Volcanic Arms Company in late 1856, took over ownership and moved the plant to New Haven, Connecticut, where it is reorganized as the New Haven Arms Company in April 1857.
As Samuel Colt's patent on the revolver was set to expire in 1856, Wesson had begun developing a prototype for a cartridge revolver.
His research pointed out that a former Colt employee named Rollin White held the patent for a "Bored-through" cylinder, a component he would need for his invention.
Wesson had reconnected with Smith and the two partners approached White to manufacture a newly designed revolver-and-cartridge combination.
Rather than make White a partner in their company, Smith and Wesson agreed to pay him a royalty of $0.25 on every revolver that they made.
It becomes White's responsibility to defend his patent in any court cases, which eventually lead to his financial ruin, but is very advantageous for the new Smith & Wesson Company.
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