The Uberti Top Break is true to the original, designed by Major George Schofield at the Smith & Wesson factory in 1869. The Schofield revolver was created as a cavalry pistol. Its efficient, break-open design could be operated one-handed. That made it easy to eject all six spent cartridges and reload the single action revolver while on horseback.
The U.S. Cavalry was slow to see the merits of the top break, but Jessie James, John Wesley Hardin, and Wild Bill Hickok saw the fast reloading capability as a distinct advantage in their line of work. After numerous trials, the U.S. Army finally purchased three thousand top breaks with an improved top latch design.
However, it was the Russian government that truly embraced the new sidearm. The Czar ordered 41,000 top breaks with a modified grip design, lanyard ring, and a distinctive trigger spur.