Editing Samuel Colt (section)

== Mines and tinfoil ==
Colt did not refrain long from manufacturing as he turned to selling underwater electrical [[detonator]]s and waterproof cable of his own invention. Soon after the failure of the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, he teamed with [[Samuel Morse]] to lobby the US government for funds. Colt's waterproof cable, made from tar-coated copper, proved valuable when Morse ran [[telegraphy|telegraph]] lines under lakes, rivers, and bays and made attempts to lay a [[transatlantic telegraph cable|telegraph line]] under the Atlantic Ocean.<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|1953|pp= 191–193}}</ref> Morse used the battery from one of Colt's mines to transmit a telegraph message from Manhattan to [[Governors Island]] when his own battery was too weak to send the signal.<ref>{{harvnb|Gibby|2011|p=88}}</ref>

As tensions with the British grew toward the end of 1841, Colt demonstrated his underwater [[naval mine|mines]] to the US government, prompting Congress to appropriate funds for his project. In 1842, he used one of the devices to destroy a moving vessel, to the satisfaction of the [[United States Navy]] and President [[John Tyler]]. However, opposition from [[John Quincy Adams]], who was serving as a [[United States House of Representatives|US Representative]] from [[Massachusetts's 8th congressional district]], scuttled the project as "not fair and honest warfare", calling the Colt mine an "unchristian contraption".<ref>{{harvnb|Schiffer|2008|p= 124}}</ref>

After this setback, Colt turned his attention to perfecting tinfoil cartridges he had originally designed for use in his revolvers. The standard at the time was to have powder and ball contained in a paper or skin envelope ("cartridge") for ease of loading. However, if the paper got wet, the powder would be ruined. Colt tried alternative materials such as rubber cement, finally deciding on a thin type of tinfoil. In 1841 he made samples of these cartridges for the army. During tests of the foil cartridges, 25 rounds were shot from a musket without cleaning. When the breech plug was removed from the barrel, no fouling from the tin foil was evident. The reception was lukewarm, but the army purchased a few thousand rounds for further testing. In 1843 the army gave Colt an order for 200,000 of the tinfoil cartridges packed 10 to a box for use in muskets.<ref name=houze678 />

With the money made from the cartridges, Colt resumed business with Morse for ideas other than detonating mines. Colt concentrated on manufacturing his waterproof telegraph cable, believing the business would prosper in tandem with Morse's invention. He began promoting the telegraph companies to create a greater market for his cable, for which he was to be paid $50 per mile.<ref>{{harvnb|Hosley |1999|p=55}}</ref> Colt tried to use this revenue to resurrect the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, but could not secure funds from other investors or even his own family. This left Colt time to improve his earlier revolver design and have a prototype for his "new and improved revolver" built by a gunsmith in New York. This new revolver had a stationary trigger and a larger caliber. Colt submitted his single prototype to the War Department as a "Holster revolver".<ref name=houze678>{{harvnb|Houze|Cooper|Kornhauser|2006|pp=67–68}}</ref>