Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat (1821–1895) is best known for the
percussion cap
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise t ...
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
that bears his name (see
LeMat revolver).
LeMat was born in France in 1821 and studied for the priesthood at an early age. He decided against it and became a doctor.
LeMat immigrated to the United States in 1843 and in 1849 he married Justine Sophie LePretre, the cousin of U.S. Army Major
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...
. Beauregard later led the bombardment of
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
in Charleston Harbor in 1861. LeMat was an avid inventor as well as a practicing
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and Beauregard financed some of these ideas.
LeMat, secured for his "Grapeshot revolver" design on October 21, 1856. British patents for the same design were issued in 1859, and he later designed a revolver rifle of similar concept as the handgun.
He returned to France after the Civil War and led a legion of Americans during the
Franco-Prussian War. While many sources list his year of death in 1883, the most credible sources note that his grave in Paris indicates he died in 1895.
Find a grave
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemat, Jean Alexandre
1821 births
1895 deaths
People from New Orleans
French emigrants to the United States
19th-century American inventors
Weapon designers
Firearm designers
American Civil War industrialists