Existing comment:
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. |