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Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat (1821–1895) is best known for the percussion cap 
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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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 in Charleston Harbor in 1861. LeMat was an avid inventor as well as a practicing physician 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./ref>
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