BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Richmond -- Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) -- Exhibit: Armaments

VA -- Richmond -- Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) -- Exhibit: Armaments:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. VHSARM_140112_05.JPG: The Virginia Manufactory of Arms: In his final address to Congress in 1796, President George Washington called for the creation of public armories, warning that the new republic should not be "dependent on foreign supply" for arms and ammunition. He was wary of "interference with pursuits of individual industry" but doubted that private enterprise alone would meet the need. "Strong considerations of national policy," he argued, required the investment of public funds. The anti-Federalists who controlled Virginia politics agreed with Washington's assessment but preferred armories to be a function of state, not national government. Soon after the presidential address, Virginia's General Assembly asked the governor to find an appropriate location in Richmond for "an arsenal and manufactory of arms."
2. VHSARM_140112_08.JPG: Plans: Requested by Governor James Wood to recommend a site, Powhattan County millright John Clarke suggested a six-acre tract between the James River Canal and the river, well-suited both for delivery of raw materials and for waterpower to drive the armory's machinery. When the legislature authorized a manufactory of arms in 1798, Clarke was entrusted to draw up plans. He visited other American armories, especially the federal armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he studied factory layout, bookkeeping, and testing methods. His resulting plans called for a workforce of 150 with daily production of sixteen muskets, six pistols, and seven swords. In 1801, Clarke made a second trip to the north to recruit skilled gunsmiths. By year's end, he reported to Governor James Monroe that the manufactory would soon commence operations.
3. VHSARM_140112_11.JPG: The Militia: County militia units, consisting of armed citizens rather than professional soldiers, were established in Virginia in the early 1600s. They were a mainstay of the patriot cause in the American Revolution. The Second Amendment of the US Constitution, drafted in 1791, declared "a well regulated militia" to be "necessary to the security of a free state." In a nation born out of resistance to taxation, however, appeals for quality arms for the militia often fell on deaf ears. Anti-Federalist Virginians, in particular, favored small and cheap government. It took foreign threats from Britain and France in the 1790s to modify these attitudes. Nonetheless, certain problems with the militia were chronic. Officers were regularly chosen for their social standing or popularity rather than military competence, and the troops often would not muster at all unless induced by free liquor, which then spoiled their drills.
4. VHSARM_140112_28.JPG: Operations: In March 1802, one wing of the Virginia Manufactory of Arms began production. Most of the gunsmiths came from the northeast, and many of the tools were obtained in Birmingham, England. The design of the First Model musket was based on the US Armory Model 1795. The initial guns were completed in October 1802, and by year's end 336 muskets with bayonets had been made. In 1803, the first full year of operation, 2,032 muskets were made. By the end of 1804, eighty-seven persons, skilled and unskilled, were employed. John Clarke, who had planned and built the Manufactory, was appointed superintendent. He described it in 1806 as "the best and most economical means of procuring arms." It produced "a quality greatly superior" to arms purchased elsewhere, with the advantage that the arms "are manufactured with uniformity in all their parts," yet at a lower cost per unit. Moreover, "the money paid for Arming our Militia is kept in circulation among our citizens, and tends to encourage their skills and industry." Clarke added that "an art is diffused not only advantageous to our youth, but important to the protection of our country's rights." From 1802 to 1821, the Manufactory produced some 58,000 muskets, nearly 3,000 per year. Although muskets were the bulk of the output, the Manufactory also produced 18,000 other weapons. The Manufactory made cannon, too, but not in large quantity. The foundry and boring mill for large ordnance were completed in 1809 and active until 1813. In that period, 235 iron cannon were produced.
5. VHSARM_140112_34.JPG: Manufacturing: John Clarke based the Virginia Manufactory system primarily on that of Springfield Armory, which divided musket production into about forty different steps. His plan put a larger number of gunsmiths working at the more time-consuming tasks so the process could move at an even pace. Based on his background as a millright, Clarke designed a modern factory that utilized water-powered machinery whenever applicable. Mill technology was one of the first fields in which American innovation made a mark. Energy from the fall of water was captured by a wheel and distributed by means of gears, drive-shafts, fly-wheels, and belts to run a series of machines in the fabrication process. At the Manufactory, head-gates at the James River Canal fed mill-races that filled basins and turned waterwheels. The wheels powered trip-hammer forges, boring and drilling machines, grinders, and polishers, and probably also fans, pumps, saws, and lathes. The two wings were powered separately, each utilizing three waterwheels, two of 16-foot diameter and one of 12-foot diameter in two falls. A third fall drove the waterwheels for the cannon operation in a separate mill on the lower side of the property. A gun barrel was made from iron that was forged, a process of heating and hammering that both formed and strengthened the metal. Clarke reported that it required "thirteen distinct operations" to make a gun barrel: "Forging a scalp for the barrel [in which the iron was hammered into a long plate], welding barrel [shaping the scalp around a rod, and closing the seam to make a cylinder], annealing [strengthening the metal by heating and cooling, i.e. tempering], rough-boring [with care to avoid warping from heat], smooth-boring, grinding, forging a breech [ a cap for the hind end of the barrel], breeching, making a touchhole [for the spark from the flint to ignite the charge], proving [firing a test with charge and shot], looping, sighting, and polishing." A gun-lock was assembled from pieces made by forging, filing, stamping, hardening, and polishing. The gunstock was made of seasoned wood, first shaped to its outer dimensions and then cut with precise slots and cavities for the lock and trigger mechanisms. Nothing was off-the-shelf: every screw was forged, filed, and cut.
6. VHSARM_140112_38.JPG: Gunstock Late, 1818
7. VHSARM_140112_41.JPG: Controversy and Change: In 1807, complaints from militia units about defective weapons led to investigations at the Manufactory. After manufacture, musket barrels were "proved" to assure their quality by firing tests with specified loads of gunpowder and shot. The doubts about Manufactory muskets led to new tests of weapons previously issued. The reproving tests had mixed results. They seemed to show a high rate of failure for muskets made in 1804, but the extent of the deficiencies was a subject of debate. The dispute brought criticism of the superintendent's performance. Although John Clarke was reappointed by the General Assembly in January 1808, a newspaper's campaign against him expanded into financial allegations, and eventually the clamor led to new investigations. When the case took a political turn, Clarke was forced out in January 1809. A few years later, in 1816, Clarke established the Bellona Foundry for cannon in Chesterfield County. For Bellona, he probably purchased the large ordnance machinery no longer used at the Manufactory. James Staples, a supervisor at the Manufactory, succeeded Clarke. Staples served as superintendent until the closing of the armory in 1821. Under Staples, modifications were made to musket design beginning in 1809, based partly on new US models of 1808 and 1812. After several years of transitional muskets, the Second Model musket was produced 1812-21. The Manufactory brought out a Second Model pistol in 1812.
8. VHSARM_140112_44.JPG: Soldiers at the Manufactory: The man in profile at left represents the Independent Company of Artificers, a militia unit from 1806-15. The two men at right represent the Public Guard, a state unit in full-time service, and wear uniforms used from 1801 to 1815. (The illustrated musket is on display: the 1803 First Model marked "Nansemond".)
9. VHSARM_140112_50.JPG: The War of 1812 in 1813: Virginia Manufactory arms played their most consequential role during the War of 1812. When the United States declared war on Great Britain in June 1812, it had relatively few naval ships and only a small standing army. State militias were expected to supply soldiers and to defend against threats to coastal areas. Units from Virginia served in Ohio under General William Henry Harrison, but the Virginia militia was primarily stationed in the Chesapeake Bay theater. A British naval squadron tool control of the entrance to the bay in February 1813. Virginia forces assembled to protect lower Tidewater areas, especially Norfolk and Portsmouth. The American strongpoints were Fort Norfolk and Craney Island. A British attempt on Norfolk in March 1813 failed. In June 1813, a stronger attack on Norfolk was repulsed by American army, navy, and militia forces in the battle of Craney Island but days later the British drove off militia defending Hampton and sacked it. Over the summer, British forces conducted raids at many places. In late June and early July, they struck near Jamestown and in Isle of Wight. Later, from a base on Maryland's Kent Island, they made incursions into Westmoreland County. Their stealthy forays were often launched too quickly for local militia to be gathered for effective response. In September 1813, British forces withdrew from the Chesapeake, leaving only a small squadron on blockade. The War of 1812 in 1814: In spring 1814, the British returned, establishing a base at Tangier Island . From May through July, numerous Virginia and Maryland places were raided, including Accomac on the Eastern Shore and Westmoreland County along the Potomac. On 3 August, a major incursion up the Yeocomico River burned Kinsale and attacked Northumberland Court House but met stuff militia resistance. In August, new British troops arrived and proceeded to Maryland's Patuxent River. On 19 August, 4,000 soldiers landed and moved on Washington. Among the capital's defenders were Fairfax County militiamen. On 24 August, in a defeat described by the battle-name "Bladensburg Runs," American forces were routed. British forces marched into Washington and burned the Capitol and White House. On 29 August, Alexandria surrendered without firing a shot. The British next turned to Baltimore. Joining Maryland and US units was a substantial contingent of Virginia militia, which held the left side of the line for the successful American resistance at the battle of North Point on 12 September. After the ineffective if spectacular bombardment of Fort McHenry on 13-14 September, British forces withdrew. The main part left the Chesapeake in October, but an element remained on Tangier Island. Raids continued on the Potomac at Nomini Bay and on the Rappahannock at Tappahannock and North Farnham Church. Word that a peace treaty had been signed on 24 December 1814 reached President James Madison in blackened Washington on 14 February 1815.
10. VHSARM_140112_53.JPG: Virginia State Armory: By 1821, the Manufactory seemed expensive and unnecessary. The militia had been armed, and in 1820 the Federal armories began to supply the states. The legislature decided that weapon production would cease at the end of 1821. Sections of the Manufactory were occupied as an arsenal and barracks, but much of the facility fell into disuse. By the end of the 1850s, sectional conflict loomed. John Brown's raid of October 1859, because it was aimed at the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, called attention to the importance of weapon facilities. In January 1860, Virginia approved funds to reopen the Manufactory as the Virginia State Armory. The nearby Tredegar Iron Works was contracted to refit the factory. Before much was done, war broke out in April 1861. On 18 April, Virginia militia under Captain Turner Ashby occupied Harpers Ferry. They suppressed fires set by the departing federal garrison and took possession of the armory's Model 1855 rifle and rifle musket machinery. From April to June 1861, the machinery and large stores of parts were moved to Richmond. Another portion went to Fayetteville, NC. C.S. Armory, Richmond: In July 1861, Virginia transferred the Virginia State Armory to the Confederate government and it was designated as the Confederate States Armory, Richmond. In October 1861, the first lot of rifle muskets was produced using Harpers Ferry machinery and parts. For the rest of the war, the Armory was a component of the Richmond Confederate weapons complex -- down the hill from the Armory was the Richmond Arsenal; on nearby Brown's Island was the laboratory for small arms ammunition; and adjacent to the west were the Armory Rolling Mill and Tredegar Iron Works. One estimate is that the C.S. Armory, Richmond manufactured about 36,000 rifle muskets, rifle carbines, and short rifles, and repaired about 24,000 others. The Armory was consumed in the evacuation fire of 3 April 1865. Some of the brick ruins stood for decades. The western half of the center section was rebuilt in 1866 and served as a barracks until 1869. Thereafter, the building was unoccupied and finally razed about 1900. Today, South Fifth Street below Canal Street passes over the site of the Virginia Manufactory. Visible from Fifth Street to the west is the old canal retaining wall, including a late nineteenth-century headgate located at the outlet for the mill-race that served the west wing of the Manufactory.
11. VHSARM_140112_56.JPG: View from Gambles Hill in Richmond: To the left, the Armory faces the canal. Far left is the bridge over the canal at 5th Street. Crossing the James River at center is the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad bridge, with the town of Manchester beyond. Facing the canal, at center is the Armory Rolling Mill and at right the Tredegar Iron Works.
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