A Soldier’s Revolver: The Model 1899 and the Birth of the M&P Legacy

Among the many milestones in American revolver history, few are as consequential as the introduction of the Smith & Wesson .38 Military & Police Model of 1899. Officially designated the “.38 Hand Ejector, Military & Police First Model,” this revolver was the prototype for what would become the most widely used revolver design in 20th-century policing and military service—the now-famous M&P lineage that continues to this day as the Model 10.

The revolver highlighted in this post—serial number 13030—was shipped on March 29, 1901 to the Springfield Armory as part of the U.S. Army’s first order of 1,000 units. It features a 6-inch barrel, blued finish, and checkered walnut round butt grips, with government inspector’s markings present on both the frame and grips. In every way, it is a quintessential example of the Army contract configuration.

But what sets this specific revolver apart?

After extensive research and a formal authentication letter from Smith & Wesson's historical division, it turns out this exact gun is the lowest known serial number surviving from that original U.S. Army contract batch. While over 20,000 of these First Model M&Ps were produced from 1899 to 1902, this one—No. 13030—carries not just its military lineage but a rare distinction among collectors and historians.

The Model 1899 marked the first Smith & Wesson revolver chambered for the .38 S&W Special cartridge, now simply called the .38 Special. It also introduced a swing-out cylinder design and a more modern internal lockwork, features that would become standard in revolvers for decades. Its introduction effectively defined the platform for American service revolvers through two World Wars, countless police contracts, and well into the 21st century.

These early U.S. Army revolvers were delivered during a time of military transformation—coming out of the Spanish-American War and heading into a new era of overseas engagement and domestic modernization. Though soon replaced by Colt's 1909 and then the semi-automatic M1911, these early Smith & Wessons represent a unique moment in ordnance experimentation and service overlap.

If you're holding an M&P today—be it a revolver or one of the modern polymer-framed pistols—you’re holding a legacy that started right here, with revolvers like No. 13030.

It’s not often we can trace a specific service weapon back to its original military shipment, let alone one that survives in this condition, fully intact and authenticated, over 120 years later. It is a small steel witness to the dawning of a new century—and the dawn of a new kind of sidearm.

— Orme Dumas Firearms Historian, Government Contract Archivist, and Son of the Service Revolver Age