During that same period, Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson were working on a revolutionary design for a vest pocket revolver. This would become the very first revolver firing a metal cartridge. When the two gentlemen wanted to patent their invention, they were in for quite a surprise.  Apparently, a certain Rollin White had already a patent on the fully bored through cylinder, an essential element in the design of Smith & Wesson to be able to load the cartridges through the rear of the cylinder.

Smith & Wesson being experienced businessmen contacted Rollin White and proposed a deal to him on November 17, 1856.  Rollin White, being happy to make money with a design that Colt called “worthless”, gave Smith & Wesson an exclusive right to the part of patent 12648 that concerned the bored through cylinder. In return, he received a one-time royalty of $500 and a royalty of 25 cents for each revolver produced by Smith & Wesson.

Daniel Wesson knew from experience that protecting a patent is very difficult.  As a very smart move, he forced Rollin White, as part of the deal, to defend his patent against infringement by competitors.  In fact, as later turned out, Rollin White had to spend a substantial part of the royalties on expensive lawsuits. In addition, Rollin White was not allowed to use his patent himself to manufacture revolvers. 

With this agreement, Smith & Wesson made a very good deal: They had a complete monopoly on cartridge revolvers for the next 12 years.

The American Civil War created a huge demand for vest and belt revolvers. Smith & Wesson were doing great business and could not keep up with demand. In 1861, Rollin White started its own revolver production under the name “Rollin White Arms Company” in a factory in Lowell, Massachusetts. Approximately 4,300 revolvers were produced, all of which were sold to Smith & Wesson to meet demand.  Rollin White liquidated the company in 1864 and all of the tooling was sold to the Lowell Arms Company, which immediately began producing revolvers that infringed White’s patent. White sued them but only after they had produced some 7,500 revolvers.

White fought patent infringement cases against many parties such as Allen & Wheelock, Manhattan Firearms Company, Merwin & Bray and the National Arms Company. The court usually decided in White’s favor but often allowed production to continue upon payment of a royalty. In some cases, the weapons manufactured were acquired by Smith & Wesson. The revolvers were then marked with “APRIL 3 1855” as the patent date and sold through distributors.

In the case of Allen & Wheelock, the judge decided in November 1863, after a lengthy lawsuit, that Ethan Allen had to cease all production of cartridge revolvers, both rimfire and lipfire.

In 1867, a few years before the patent expired, White and Smith & Wesson made an attempt to sell the patent to Colt for $1 million. Although Colt was eager to begin production of cartridge revolvers, he declined the offer and decided to wait until the expiration date.

Rollin White tried to extend the patent, but when this failed, he requested to lobby Congress and seek redress because he felt that he had not been properly compensated by Smith & Wesson. This is registered under Relief act Bill 273. He had received no more than $71,000 in royalties while Smith & Wesson had earned more than $1 million from “his” invention. However, White’s request was set aside by President Grant. Grant relied on statements by Chief of Ordnance Alexander Brydie Dyer who stated that White’s patent challenges during the American Civil War put the Union forces at a great disadvantage because no other weapons manufacturer could equip the army with cartridge revolvers.