Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 12.djvu/91

 Confederate Ordnance Department. 8T

chiefly through my Bureau, it was detached at my own instance, but remained in charge of Colonel Bayne, with a good staff of officers and agents as a separate Bureau.

Thus the Ordnance Department consisted of a Bureau proper of Ordnance having its officers in the field and at the arsenals and depots; of the Nitre and Mining Bureau, and of the Bureau of Foreign Supplies.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARSENALS, ARMORIES AND OTHER PLACES or MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE STORES.

The arsenal at Richmond soon grew into very large dimensions, and produced all the ordnance stores that an army may require, ex- cept cannon and small arms in quantities sufficient to supply the forces in that part of the field. I have by accident preserved a copy of the last number of the Richmond /:«^7/zy<?r, published under Confederate rule. It is dated April ist, 1865, and contains the following "State- ment of the j^rincipal issues from the Richmond arsenal, from July ist, 1861, to January ist, 1865:"

341 Columbiads and seige guns (these were made at the Tredegar works, but issued from the arsenal); 1,306 field-pieces, made chiefly at Tredegar works or captured; 1,375 gun carriages; 875 caissons ; 152 forges; 6,852 setts of artillery-harness; 921,441 rounds field, seige, and sea-coast ammunition ; 1,456,190 friction primer; 1,1 10,966 fuzes ; 17,423 port-fires ; 3,985 rockets ; 323,231 infantry arms (most of these were turned in from the army, from battle-fields and from the Rich- mond armory) ; 34,067 cavalry arms (same remark) ; 44,877 swords and sabres (from army, battle-field and contractors 1 ; 375,510 setts of infantry and cavalry accoutrements; 180,181 knapsacks; 328,977 canteens and straps; 72,413,854 small arm cartridges; 115,087 gun and carbine slings; 146,901,250 percussion caps ; 69,418 cavalry-sad- dles; 85,139 cavalry-bridles ; 75,611 cavalry- halters ; 35,464 saddle- blankets; 59,624 pairs spurs; 42,285 horse-brushes; 56.903 curry- combs.

This " statement" appears as an editorial, but the items were fur- nished from the office of the arsenal, and may be relied on. Its Commandant at this time was Lieutenant-Colonel LeRoy Broun, of Virginia. In the items of cavalry-saddles, bridles, harness, infantry accoutrements, canteens and other articles of this character much assis- tance was received from contractors. A small part of the percussion caps also came from other arsenals. When we reflect that the arsenal grew to these great dimensions in a little over two years, it must be