Regarding the history of the weapon:

George Washington decreed that a second state-run arms factory should be built alongside the Springfield Armory. The picturesque town of Harpers Ferry, on the border between Maryland and Virginia, was chosen for its strategically advantageous location and the potential to harness water power at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The land was acquired in 1796, construction of the arms factory began in 1799, and by 1802, 25 employees were producing muskets and pistols. During the Civil War, at which time the factory employed approximately 400 people, it was destroyed and never rebuilt.
The Model 1805 Flintlock Pistol, manufactured in Harpers Ferry from 1806 to 1808 in a quantity of 4,096, was the first service pistol of the U.S. Army produced in a National Armory. This followed the Army's acquisition of 2,000 Model 1799 Flintlock Pistols in .69 caliber from S. North & E. Cheney of Berlin, Connecticut. Unlike its predecessor, which featured a boxlock action and a free-floating barrel, the Model 1805 Flintlock Pistol was stocked and had a side-lock mechanism. The barrel was smoothbore and 10 1/16 inches long.