In 1861 Edward N. Spiller and David J. Burr both of Richmond, Virginia were wealthy businessmen tapped to supply arms for the Confederate States. They teamed up with James H. Burton, who had been trained in the manufacture of firearms and had recently been commissioned as a Lt. Colonel in the Confederate Army, tasked with setting up factories in the south to make guns.
Some say the team purchased the Robinson Revolver factory in Richmond, others say that the first guns were built at the Richmond Armory (where Burton was the supervisor) yet others say they set up a factory at the Atlanta Steam Flour Mill in Atlanta.
Either way they set out to build copies of the .36 cal Colt model of 1836 Navy revolver (which the Confederacy had standardized on).
Burton, however, thought the 1854 Whitney revolver (also a 36 cal) would be a better choice and after approval set out to build them.
Some changes were made to the Whitney design, for better or worse it was to save time and money. Most notably was the brass frame, this was done to save precious steel, as the south had little ability to produce steel.
Below is a picture of the Whitney (top) and the Spiller & Burr (bottom).
Near the end of 1861 the Confederate Government thought it wise to move the manufacturing of arms deeper into southern territory. Some say the factory was moved to Atlanta to the Atlanta Steam Flour Mills (now the site of the James H. Floyd Veterans Memorial Building) other say they moved to the Macon Armory, yet still others say the move was to Savannah. One thing for sure, the Richmond factory (and the Spiller & Burr company) was taken over by the Confederate Government in January of 1864.
All told there were somewhere around 1,250 of these revolvers made, making them quite rare.
What Remains:
The old Robinson Revolver Factory sat at the corner of 9th & Arch streets in Richmond, just a block or two from the James River. The river probably provided power. The address no longer exists and is now the site of these high-rise office buildings.
The Confederate Richmond Armory was not far away, sitting between Canal and Carey and 4th & 6th streets, it is now the site of a parking garage and parking lot.
The old Atlanta Steam Flour Mill site is now the James H. Floyd Veterans Memorial Building, at 200 Piedmont St SE in Atlanta
The old Confederate Macon Armory was in the Tindall Heights neighborhood, near the Mercer University campus in Macon.
Resources:
Database of USA Gunmakers (earmi.it)
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/c-s-arsenal-macon-the-last-of-the-poor-old-confederacy.69653/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40550193?seq=1
http://forum.gon.com/threads/georgia-gun-manufacturing.129365/
http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20americaine/revolver%20confedere/a%20revolver%20confedere%20spiller%20gb.htm
https://whitneyrevolver.com/http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20americaine/revolver%20confedere/a%20revolver%20confedere%20spiller%20gb.htm
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/confederate-revolvers-spiller-burr/
http://www.csarmory.org/spiller/page4.html
http://www.csarmory.org/spiller/spiller.html
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/11/a-look-back-at-the-spiller-burr-revolver/
https://books.google.com/books?id=3fsSZbrQFYUC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=spiller+%26+burr+macon+ga+armory&source=bl&ots=G2APQ1C3V6&sig=ACfU3U3Cu4JPJ8gHrhDlmTEbVTZ6dT9AYg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCipLKqqzmAhXCpZ4KHUuOCo4Q6AEwBHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=spiller%20%26%20burr%20macon%20ga%20armory&f=false
