Guns of the Dead Presidents 

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If you clicked on this article expecting to read about guns owned by the never-Grammy award-winning, Billboard-bottoming artist/producer duo, The Dead Presidents, you’re going to be disappointed. 

If, however, you clicked expecting to read about guns owned by former presidents of the United States, then you’re in luck. Many of this country’s now-departed commanders-in-chief have owned firearms, some of which have been covered here previously, but there are still others to check out. So, here’s a few more. 

Made by French gunsmith Jacob Walster around 1775, this pair of flintlock pistols was a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette to then-general George Washington. 

The pistols are approximately .57 caliber and are fitted with 11.5” barrels. Stylishly accented by gold and silver, the pair were considered “saddle pistols” because of their size - far too large to carry on one’s belt or tucked into a sash. They would have been carried in a pair of holsters designed to fit over the pommel of a saddle. 

Washington carried the pistols and it’s believed that he had them with him at Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Yorktown during the Revolution, and then later while he was president during the Whiskey Rebellion. The pistols are an exceptionally well-made pair and are a fantastic example of the type of craftsmanship that was made in the last quarter of the 18th century. 

Interestingly, the guns were eventually owned by another president: Andrew Jackson. During Lafayette’s 50th anniversary tour in 1826, he saw the pistols again at Jackson’s Hermitage in Tennessee. 

Today, you can see them on display at Fort Ligonier in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. 

Theodore Roosevelt owned many guns in his lifetime, but the Holland & Holland Royal Double Rifle, s/n 19109, chambered in .500/450 was the finest firearm he ever owned. It has become known as the “Big Stick” as a reference to his quote on diplomacy. 

The rifle was ordered in August 1908 and the final cost was 85 pounds, 13 shillings, and 6 pence. At the time, that was the equivalent of 8.5 months’ salary for a skilled tradesman. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about 10,500 pounds or $12,600 today - an absolute steal considering that the gun would start at 165,000 pounds if you ordered it today. 

A year later, he took it to the Dark Continent on his now-famous African safari of 1909 that was underwritten by the Smithsonian. The gun is featured in many photos from the safari and features prominently in his book, African Game Trails. 

If you’d like to see the gun today, it is on display at the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. 

This single-shot, percussion pistol was made by Phillip Creamer of St. Louis, Missouri, for the seventh president, Andrew Jackson. Just behind the tang, attached to the pistol's wrist, is a silver oval plate bearing the inscription "Andrew Jackson" in script lettering. 

It features an octagonal barrel with an engraved tang and inlaid gold bands at the muzzle and the breech. The lock plate and hammer are tastefully engraved. The work doesn’t overpower or look out of place on the gun. On the barrel flat opposite the percussion cone, in between the two gold bands, is a gold oval that features a star and "P CREAMER" worked into the gold. The lock plate also says “P CREAMER,” so there’s no mistaking who made this gun. 

It is obvious that Mr. Creamer took great pride in his work. All of the screws are engraved and the checkering on the pistol's grip is very finely done, with great attention paid to detail. 

If you want to see this gun for yourself, it is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. The pistol is part of an exhibit called Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations, which is slated to run until 2028. 

Before being elected to the nation’s highest office in the election of 1876, Hayes served in the Civil War and rose to the rank of brigadier general. It was not uncommon for officers such as Hayes to carry privately purchased sidearms, and that’s exactly what he did with the Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 that he owned. 

Purchased by Rutherford in 1864, the revolver was Smith & Wesson’s first gun to be chambered for .32 rimfire cartridges. Because of the ammo that it fired, the Model No. 2 revolver could be reloaded much easier and faster than the contemporary percussion revolvers. There’s nothing special about Hayes’ gun. It isn’t engraved or inlaid with anything fancy. To the brigadier general, it was a life-saving tool; just one of more than 35,000 that were made during the Civil War. 

You can take a look at this revolver for yourself if you visit the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont, Ohio. 

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