 The cylinder is somewhat shorter than that found on the later Colt Navy .36 revolvers but will hold of FFFg black powder while allowing full seating of the ball.Colt sold the Paterson revolver and carbine to the United States Army and they saw limited use in the Second Seminole War in Florida.The firepower advantage that they offered was initially praised by the troops, but the United States government considered the arms to be excessively fragile and prone to malfunction.