The Van Buren press., 1874-04-07

II continued 10 Oe circutateu auu ueatcScu'
while the refutation, although by such
body, was unaoticed, and, ! believe. is
now forgotten.
The facts that were distorted into that
calumny are clearly stated In the report
of the committee. and must be well
known by the principal officers OF the
United States ordnance bureau. and re-
corded in that bureau, for the orders in
question were given through that, the
proper channel. They are briefly these
Previous to the year 1859 the infantry
arms manufactured under the direction
of the war department had been sccumu'
lating in the Springfield armory, in con-.
sequence of the neglect Of an old rule OF
the government which required the dis
tributon of these arms in arsenals con
structed for the purpose in the different
sections Of the country. In the begin
ming of that year the accumulation had
flled the places of deposit at Springfield,
where the newly adopted improved arms
were made. To make room there for
the new arms as they we're finished, Mir.
Floyd ordered the removal Of about
lO5, 900 muskets and 10000 rifles to
empty Southern arsenals, constructed
many years before to receive them, un.
der laws of Congress. There were old.
fashioned arms that had been discarded
by the government on account OF the re
cent improvements in small arms, and
the adoption by it Of the "rfed musket" "
About 400, 900 of the old discarded arms
and all of the new and improved were
left in the North About year later
1000 rifed muskets were offered tor dis
tribution to the States under an act Of
Congress- Only 700 of them went to the
South, however, because even then there
was so little apprehension OF war that
several Southern States refused or neg
lectcd to take their portions. Mr.. Floyds
o, ders, as have said, were given before
secession had been thought Of or war ap-
pretended by the people of any part Of
the United States.
The seeding States, in general, made
no preparation for war by procuring
arms-none of consequence, that is to
say. l believe that Georgia procured
10000 ld-fashloned muskets, and Vir
ginia had 10000 made in State armory
more than forty years before. They had
of course flint locks. Each of the other
Southern States on seeding claimed, and
when practicable, took possession of the
military property of the United States
within its limits. They obtained in that
way the arms with which they began the
war '"i'
To recapitulate: The Confederate
States began the war with 100000 arms
Of obsolete models, and 700 of the re-
Gently adopted weapons, "ri6ed muskets'
and the United States with about 450, 900
of the old and all of the modern arms
that had been made since the adoption
of the new models, about the middle Of
Gen. Pierce's administration, when Mr..
Davis was at the head Of the war depart
meni, except, however, 700 held by the
Confederacy. The equipped field bat
teres and fixed ammunition of all kinds
were in the North, as well as the estab-
lishments for the manufacture OF arms
and the preparation OF ammunition, ex-
ccpt that at Harper's Ferry. which, be-
ing on the border, was abandoned by the
United States, after an attempt to des-
troy it, which left little besides machinery.