Existing comment:
Touch a Piece of History:
A small pistol was hidden in John Wilkes Booth's pocket as he approached the theatre box where the president was seated. His weapon of choice was a compact, silver-inlaid deringer pistol weighing barely eight ounces. Unlike military revolvers that could fire up to six times before reloading, the deringer could handle only one bullet at a time.
When Booth pulled the trigger, the deringer fired a single round ball. As the black powder exploded and the dull grey bullet left the gun, the air filled with blue-grey smoke and burning gunpowder. The discharged lead ball weighed nearly an ounce, proving to be a deadly shot. |