James Wolfe Ripley James Wolfe Ripley ( December 10 , 1794 – March 16 , 1870 ) was an American soldier , serving as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War . He was instrumental in the early days of the war in modernizing the artillery ' s ordnance . However , Ripley also delayed the introduction of repeating rifles into U . S . arsenals , an act that has been widely criticized by later historians . Biography . Ripley was born in Windham County , Connecticut . He graduated at West Point in 1814 , was commissioned second lieutenant of artillery , and took part in the defense of Sacketts Harbor . In 1817 – 18 he served under Jackson during the Seminole War and the invasion of Florida as a first lieutenant . He was promoted to captain in 1825 . In 1832 - 33 , Ripley commanded the Federal forces in Charleston harbor at the time of the nullification movement in South Carolina . He was promoted to major of ordnance in 1838 . He commanded the Kennebec arsenal between 1833 and 1842 . Between 1842 and 1854 , Ripley was superintendent of the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts . In 1854 he was transferred to the Watertown Arsenal as commandant of the facility , with the rank of lieutenant colonel . Then he was chief of ordnance of the Pacific Coast Department and inspector of arsenals . With the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861 , Ripley was promoted to colonel ( April ) and brigadier general ( August ) and appointed chief of ordnance of the army . As the Federal forces then had no heavy rifled cannon , he immediately ordered the conversion of old smoothbore s and the manufacture of Parrott gun s . At the same time , Ripley refused to authorize the purchase of additional stocks of rifle - muskets for infantry use . The decision was based on the large existing stocks of smoothbore muskets in U . S . arsenals , which he argued could be re - rifled in the same manner as the Parrott guns ( an assertion which proved incorrect ) . He also adamantly opposed the introduction of breech - loading repeating rifles , on the basis that they would encourage poor fire discipline and waste ammunition . Many historians have since decried this decision , arguing the lack of modern arms on the Union side , at a time when the Confederates were buying them in large numbers from France and the United Kingdom , lengthened the conflict by as much as two years . Others , however , counter that given the poor logistics of the Union armies at the outbreak of the war , the increased supply train needed to maintain the improved rates of fire would have bogged down the armies and made maneuver impossible ( a situation which did indeed later contribute to the development of trench warfare in World War I ) . It is also argued that fouling due to black powder residue would have made it impossible to maintain such high rates of fire under field conditions with the rifles of the time . Individual units would later purchase such weapons privately , and they were used to considerable effect , but did indeed present problems in extended firefights ; these units are not known to have had any trouble maintaining their ammunition supplies . Ripley was replaced as head of the Ordnance Department on September 15 , 1863 principally because of his continuing opposition to the introduction of breech loading rifles . From September 15 , 1863 to the year of his death , he was inspector of fortifications on the New England coast , having retired from active service . On March 8 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Ripley to the grade of brevet major general in the regular army , to rank from March 13 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on July 14 , 1866 . James Wolfe Ripley died on March 16 , 1870 in Hartford , Connecticut . He is buried in Springfield , Massachusetts . His nephew , Roswell S . Ripley , was a Confederate brigadier general during the Civil War .