Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 12.djvu/78

This page needs to be proofread.

68 Southern Historical Society Papers.

Rifles. Muskets.

At Richmond, Va. (about) 4,000

Fayetteville Arsenal, North CaroHna (about).. 2,000 25,000

Charleston Arsenal, South CaroHna (about)... 2,000 20,000

Augusta Arsenal, Georgia i about) 3,000 28,000

Mount Vernon Arsenal, Alabama 2,000 20,000

Baton Rouge Arsenal, Louisiana 2,000 27,000

15,000 120,000

There were at Richmond about 60,000 old, worthless flint muskets, and at Baton Rouge about 10,000 old Hall's rifles and carbines.

Besides the foregoing, there were at Little Rock, Ark., a few thou- sand stands, and some few at the Texas arsenals, increasing the aggre- gate of serviceable arms to, say, 143,000. To these must be added the arms owned by the several States and by military organizations throughout the country, giving, say, 150,000 in all Jbr the use of the armies of the Confederacy. The rifles were of the calibre 54, known as Mississippi rifles, except those at Richmond, taken from Harper's Ferry, which were calibre 58 ; the muskets were the old flint-lock, calibre 69, altered to percussion. Of sabres there were a few boxes at each arsenal, and some short artillery swords. A few hundred holster pistols were scattered here and there. There were no re- volvers.

AMMUNITION, POWDER AND LEAD.

There was little ammunition of any kind, or powder, at the arse- nals in the South, and that little relics of the Mexican war, stored principally at Baton Rouge and Mount Vernon arsenals. I doubt whether there were a million rounds of small-arm cartridges in the Confederacy. Lead there was none in store. Of powder the chief supply was that captured at Norfolk, though there was a small quan- tity at each of the Southern arsenals, say 60,000 pounds in all, chiefly old cannon powder. The stock of percussion caps could not have exceeded one-quarter of a million.

ARTILLERY.

There were no batteries of serviceable field artillery at any of the Southern arsenals. A few old iron guns, mounted on Gribeaural car- riages, fabricated about the time of the war of 181 2, composed nearly the entire park which the Confederate States fell heir to. There were