Existing comment:
Weapons Under Fire
You are standing in Arsenal Square. Weapons made in the armory were carted here for storage in the two arsenal buildings from 1803-1861. The stone rectangle in the ground in front of you outlines the large arsenal built in 1799. Problems plagued the two-story building.
An 1827 report found the large arsenal "liable to be destroyed by fire at any moment." By 1832, overcrowding posed a problem. "The large one [arsenal] is literally crammed... Large masses [of arms] are stored in bulk for want of boxes." Both buildings were destroyed in 1861 -- gutted by fire.
Setting Fire:
At the start of the Civil War, Virginia militia tried to seize the armory and arsenal. Outnumbered US troops set fire to these buildings to keep nearly 15,000 weapons out of enemy hands. |