Remington, 1858 .44 caliber revolver

[hvacprof]

I was recently given an 1858 .44 caliber Remington revolver from my uncle. It was owned by one of my great great grandfathers who enlisted in the Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War, fall of 1861. I would like to learn more about it. The serial number under the grips, under the barrel and under the trigger guard is 5078. It has several inspector marks, notably a PR on the cylinder, a B under the barrel, an I on the load lever, just to mention a few. In addition to learning more about it, I have a question as to the care/restoration of the gun. I have no plans to ever have it fired, however, from a mechanical appreciation point of view, I would like to be able to dissasemble it and keep it clean. The base pin is frozen in place so the cylinder cannot be removed. Should I leave well enough alone and not worry about it? If I can't control my urge to try to get the base pin out, do you have any suggestions?

[DavidFagan]

Start with kroil (time/patience) and then a brass drift from the rear.

[hvacprof]

Thanks for the suggestion David. I will begin that course of action and let you know how I progress.