Though often cited as a defective design, the double action on the Army and Navy, while not up to later Colt and S&W standards, was not all that bad and not overly complicated.

"Antonio Caspi, a prisoner on the island of Samar, P.I. attempted escape on Oct. 26, 1905. He was shot four times at close range in a hand-to-hand encounter by a .38 Colt's revolver loaded with U.S. Army regulation ammunition. He was finally stunned by a blow on the forehead from the butt end of a Springfield carbine."

Lest one think the bullets might have been badly placed, LaGarde goes on to note that three bullets entered the chest, perforating the lungs. One passed through the body, one lodged near the back and the other lodged in subcutaneous tissue. The fourth round went though the right hand and exited through the forearm.

While many tried to blame the problem on the "fanatical nature' of the Moro tribesmen the Americans were encountering, it was difficult to escape the fact that the .38 just didn't have what it takes. As a result, .45 Single Actions were carried by many men and M-1902 versions of the 1878 Colt DA with larger trigger guards and longer triggers (said by some to allow the smaller Filipinos to use two fingers to fire the gun) were issued to the Philippine Constabulary.

Much has been made of the Colt Army and Navy's double-action deficiencies, but I must admit over the years I've seen scores of these guns, both military and civilian, and unlike many Lightings I've encountered, their mechanisms generally seemed to be in good order--taking into account the amount of use a particular revolver has been subjected to.

While not as serviceable as later Colts and Smith & Wessons, the Army and Navy was an important weapon for no other reasons, I believe, than it legitimized the use of the swing-out cylinder and, rather backhandedly, caused the U.S. military to go back to .45 caliber, which ultimately resulted in the adoption of the superb Model 1911 Government Model.

By the time production ceased in 1907 (the gun would be kept in the government inventory for several years after that) more than a quarter of a million versions of the A&N had been made. Not a bad track record for an arm that many consider something of a failure.