Samuel Walker was born February 24, 1817 in Toaping Castle, Maryland. His life began ordinarily enough–attending the local country school and working as a carpenter’s apprentice.
In 1842, though, he moved to Texas, and there his adventures began! He served under Capt. Billingsley during the Woll invasion and also participated in the Mier expedition, where he survived the Black Bean episode. In 1844 he joined the Texas Rangers, serving in John Coffee Hays‘s company. At the battle of Walker’s Creek, he was among the first to use the rangers’ new Colt revolvers.
In 1847, while on a recruitment excursion, Walker paid a visit to Samuel Colt and proposed a few improvements to the pistol he had seen in action–innovations such as a stationary trigger and guard. The new six-shot revolver was named the “Walker” Colt.
Samuel Walker was killed later that same year during the Mexican War. He is buried in San Antonio.
