The M-1848 "Soldier's Pistol" was developed in the wake of the widespread adoption of the percussion cap by the armies of Europe.  It didn't take long for the Russian general staff to realize that the day of the flintlock had passed and that they too would need to adopt weapons based on this new technology.  Their initial reaction was a short term stop-gap measure, to convert existing flintlock pistols over to the new percussion cap standard.  This resulted in service pistols (most notably the 1809 models) being altered to use percussion cap systems in 1830's. 

While this was being done, an requirement for a new model percussion pistol was issued.  In 1848 the arsenal at Tula unveiled the new weapon - the "Soldier's Pistol" Model 1848 pistol.  It was a large weapon that followed the current Russian standard of being half-stocked.  The M-1848 was far from innovative, being merely a simple evolution in Russian pistol design.  It retained the caliber of its predecessors - 7 lines or 17.8mm.

The first large scale action that the pistol saw action in was the Crimean War.  The weapon had little impact on the war.  This was not surprising for a sidearm, especially in a conflict dominated by the Minié ball and the Seige of Sevastopol.  One drawback seen in the war was the weapon's rather short range and poor accuracy when compared to the American revolvers used by Naval officers of the day.  Tula gunsmiths attempted to redress this fault in 1854 by adding rifling to the pistols.  These newly modified weapons were designated the Model 1854 and went on to completely replace the earlier versions in use at the time.  These remaining weapons would continue in Russian army service until the introduction of the Smith and Wesson Model 3 in the 1870's.

Tactical Use and Limitations

M-1848 "Soldier's Pistols" were typically issued to officers in the line infantry.  In this role, the pistol provided a reliable means of self protection.  It proved to be a significant improvement over the earlier flintlock designs in that it allowed for faster, more reliable firing.  The percussion cap also eliminated the concern of keeping the weapon level in order to keep the powder in the pan.  Continued use of the 7 line ball cartridge also enabled the weapon to inflict devastating wounds on targets.

Despite these advantages the weapon was very large - even by the standards of the day.  This made it somewhat more cumbersome to use.  Its lack of a rifled barrel was not much of a disadvantage when the weapon was introduced, as the engagement ranges of other contemporary pistols was similar.  As time went on and other pistols moved to the use of rifled barrels the M-1848's limited range would become more of a liability.  The same could be said of its single shot nature.  When it first entered service this was the standard, but over time the world began moving towards revolvers.  The difference in both firepower and range would eventually force the Russian army to find a more modern weapon.

Method of Operation

The M-1848 percussion pistol is a single shot, muzzle loading weapon.  To fire the weapon, the user first loads a cotton wrapped powder charge into the weapon.  This wrapping also contains the 7 line (0.7 inch) lead ball.  The charge is rammed home using the cleaning/ramrod.  Once the charge has been properly seated the user then cocks back the hammer and places a percussion cap on the nipple.  The weapon is now ready to fire.

Deployment Chronology

The "Soldier's Pistol" Model 1848 was Russia's first attempt to apply the new percussion cap technology to a pistol design from the ground up.  It replaced flintlock pistols as well as those converted to percussion caps.  The weapon was later replaced in service by a modified version of itself - the M-1854 rifled percussion pistol.  Other percussion pistols were introduced in the years that followed (most notably the Delvigne designs), but these served alongside the M-1848 and were not an attempt to replace it.  These last variants of the M-1848 were eventually replaced by the new revolver technology in the 1860's.  Below, you can read more about the weapons that the M-1848 percussion pistol replaced as well as the weapons that eventually replaced it.

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.

• Datig, Fred A., "Russian Military Firearms" Gun Collector's Digest (5th ed), Joseph J. Schroeder (ed), DBI Books: Northbrook, IL, 1989. Print.