The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-02-11
HARpHR's FERRY GUN MACHINERY.
sone Additional valuable History and Some
Inquiries for Further Data and Informa-


Inquiries for Further Data and Informa-
ton.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Refer
ring to Mr.. w. j. Nelson's history Of the
Harper's Ferry gun machinery: am
pretty sure that there is some mistake,
and / wish that you would give us an ac
count OF it that will settle the matter. /
was with my regiment ia the three months
service Mt Harper's Ferry in July, 1861.
At that time only the ruins OF the Arsenal
remained-no machinery. j would like.
very much, to know how Jackson could
ship from there machinery in September.
lS62.-GEo. +. WALTER, Co. Il, 9th y.
y. =. NJ. three months), and Go. III, 10th
n. Y, Crown Point, n. Y.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In your
issue of Jan. q is an interesting article,
giving, believe, heretofore imprinted in
formation, entitled: "Harper's Ferry Gun
Machinery" by w. J. Nelson. Mr.. Mel
son does not give his present address, and
we ask him through The National Tribune
for more information.
Very little is to be read regarding
Harper's Ferry-the machinery and men
there prior to the war, and the where
abouts of both after 1866. Mr.. Nelson
cannot be mistaken in his account OF the
recovery of the machinery, for he was
there His story of the recapture of the
property and its removal to Washington,
ID. c., via Raleigh, is new. 1t is the first
part Of his story / wish to question.
He writes: 1T will he remembered that
on Sept. IL, 1862, Col. Miles, then com
handing at Harper's Ferry, surrendered
with / 200 men to the rebel Jackson.
Jackson at once proceeded to ship the ma
cchinery used by the y. $. to
Fayetteville
Right here we Cali Mr.. Nelson. He
may be right. What we fail to understand
is why the Confederates who arrived in
Harper's Ferry on the. evening of April
Is, 1861, after Lieut.. Jones had attempted
the destruction Of the place and retreated
north did not remove the aclinery-yai-
liable, even priceless machinery. ctc-then!
As matter Of history, l believe they did;
and by Sept. ], 1861. had finished removal.
/ am preparing for publication an ac-
count OF the Manufacture of Arms in the
II. ST." to be added to a Catalog of Arms
to he exhibited at the Worlds Fair. st.
Louis and would be pleased to be COR
rected il wrong in my story. of Harper's
Ferry.
Another point / fail to understand is
the ~. S. A." ETC., stamped by the die
on lock plates. / wish Mr.. Nelson would
write again, and tell us all the changes
made on that die. How about the name
originally or not? Did it. after alteration,
stamp "Fayetteville?" Did it ever stamp
III. s. A.?' / should be delighted to see
this die; and if Mr.. Nelson will express it
to us, care of Adj't John w. Bates, Pos:
IS, G.. A. r.. Weymouth, Mass. late Lieu
tenant. Co. G, 4th Mass. II. A., we will
pay all charges and promptly return it
EDw. N. BATES, Bates & Co., Fire Arms,
Boston, Mass.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: w. ].
Nelson has an interesting article in The
National Tribune, Jan. 81, about the Har-
per's Ferry gun machinery; but he is
grayely i'm error as to some of his state
ments. Let us have the truth of history;
otherwise, it has no value. With some
knowledge Of military sma1l-arms, and OF
the history of the civil war, may be per-
mitted to offer little information in this
matter.
It is true that Col. Miles surrendered
large number of prisoners taken, their
equipment and arms and the stores on.
hand, the captors obtained nothing. Early
in April, 1861, the Government authori-
ties i'm charge of the Arsenal and shops
at the Ferry, learning that an attempt
would be made by military companies in
the neighborhood to capture the arms, de-
.cided. April 1S, 1861, to abandon the shops.
and did so after setting fire to them and
the building, where 1900 finished mus
kefs were stored These were destroyed,
but the fires in the shops were put out by
citizens and militiamen, and the valuable
machinery, tools and large quantities of
material and many thousands Of unfinished
mnsket parts were saved. All these items
were Of priceless value to the proposed
Confederacy in its attack upon the Union.
Joseph L. Johnston. in his narrative,
states that by order OF the authorities at
Richmond he took charge at Harper's
Ferry, May %, 1861. Steps were at once
terial secured to a place Of safety, for
Johnston saw that the post could not be
held against an enemy who would place
artillery on any of the commanding
nights. The machinery and property were
sent by rail to Winchester, the terminus
Of the railroad. thence by wagons to Stras-
burg, where the Manassas Gap Railroad
received it. 1t was not until June IL that
oil of the material was removed.
At this time there were in the South
arsenals at Fayetteville, Charleston, Au
gusta. Mount Vernon and Baton Rouge,
in which were stored about 10000 mus
kets Of discarded pattern. The State of
Virginia had about 10000 muskets in pro-
cess of conversion from the flint to the
percussion pattern, and there were about
10000 newer arms that Georgia had re-
Gently obtained. In an article published III
the January number of the Confederate
Veteran, Nashville, Tenn. as part of
report made by Lieut.-Col. w. Leroy
Broun, who served as an officer of ord
nance in charge of the Arsenal at Rich
mond, Va, in 1868, it is stated that the
Richmond. Arsenal was established in to-
bacco warehouses; that the machinery
brought from Harper's Ferry was re-
moved to Richmond and established in this
improvised armory, and that it was used
to turn out muskets OF the Enfield pattern,
at rate Of about 800 per month. From
other sources of information ! am salts
fed that while large portion OF the ma
chinery was taken to Richmond, portion
was also sent to Fayetteville and there
used in making and repairing muskets for
troops in the field. Broun's article gives
an interesting list Of the supplies issued
from the Richmond Arsenal. The issue
means, of course, the large quantities of
arms gathered from battlefelds, and sent
in for repair, as well as the articles manu-