https://www.forgottenweapons.com/forehand-wadsworth-old-army-revolver/
The Forehand & Wadsworth company was a better firearms manufacturer than most people tend to give them credit for. It evolved from Allen & Wheelock, with Sullivan Forehand and Henry Wadsworth both having married daughters of Ethan Allen. When Wheelock died in 1863, the two were made partners in the firm, which became Ethan Allen & Co. Forehand was a particularly hard worker, and when Allen also passed away in 1871, the company again changed names to Forehand & Wadsworth.
Their main business was .32 and .38 pocket revolvers, which they made a quiet large number of. In 1873 they decided to compete in the service revolver arena, releasing the Army model we see here today. It was a 2.5 lb gun with a 7.5 inch barrel, chambered for the .44 Russian cartridge. Single action only, with a 6-shot cylinder and a rather weak and clumsy manual ejector rod. Ultimately, the gun simply could not compete with the superior Colt and Smith & Wesson offerings, and less than a thousand would be made in total. A slightly improved version chambered for .44-40 was introduced in 1878, but this also failed to gain any significant traction in the market.
Forehand & Wadsworth Old Model Army Single Action Revolver. 1st ModelSerial no. 630 [butt and inside grip panels], .44 Russian centerfire caliber, 7 1/2-inch barrel with fixed front sight and frame notch rear sight. Blued finish. Case-hardened hammer and trigger. Smooth walnut grip panels. Lanyard ring.
Forehand & Wadsworth 2nd Model .44-40 cal. Revolver, SN# 269, all numbers matching on frame, cylinder and both grips, 6 5/8” bbl., very rare only few hundred made
