Regimental Armorer Tools

[OldKingCrow]

I don't think you can compare what it takes to keep today's often roughly finished repops with their MIM internals which many times lack proper engagement surface hardening with a period piece.

A hand fitted period piece of forged internals outside of a mainspring or lost parts just didn’t go down much. That is partially why dated firearms were updated to newer technology and used many years past their heyday. (M1819/1822 conversions etc).

In terms of strictly supposition and based my studies, I am of the inclination that an armorer served more in a quartermaster capacity to cull and inventory arms and their suitability for issuance or use as replacement arms rather than as a gunsmith on the spot. It is not like drop internals / parts out of a box were an option.

[Todd Watts]

http://pabucktail.com/Reference/coates.htm
http://www.civilwarhome.com/sharps.htm
http://www.100thpenn.com/georgewthompsonbio.htm
http://www.usregulars.com/Customs%20...ice/COS03.html
444. A strict account of the arms, therefore, is necessary, and tends to keep them in good order; for if the soldiers find that they are to pay every loss or deficiency, they will take care of them as if they were their own personal property. The arms should bear the letter of the company and be numbered, and each soldier should have his corresponding number issued to him. If the arms cannot be so lettered and numbered from the arsenal, it can be done by the regimental armorer.
http://books.google.com/books?id=0ib...age&q=&f=false
P168 Cyrus Longyear appointed artificer and reg’t armorer.

Attached are some quick links I located mentioning the position discussed. I have noticed that the units with Sharps guns were actually authorized to hire a gunsmith/armorer to maintain the guns. Whether these guys were "in the rear with the gear" or actually on active campaign with their regiments is hard to say. My personal guess is they were along with the regiment's supply train where a travelling forge and assorted wagons would be, but had to be within fairly easy walking access by the men once in park so men could get guns to the armorer. Just my hypothesis for whatever it is worth.

[Johan Steele]

IMO a Regimental Armoroer would have been even more important to a Regiment of Infantry in the early part of the War, say pre mid 63, where Regiments might have 5-6 differnt kinds of weapons. And unless a US made arm of Hall pattern or M1841 & later it was not likely interchangeable. So filing and fitting was required, and filing and fitting by someone who knew the difference between a hammer and a mainspring. Dealing w/ Austrian, French, German, English etc arms required some work to put them back in order, and a weapon was not going to be condemned for a broken mainspring or broken cone.

With the volunteer Regiments especially the gunsmith in the ranks is going to be known and he already knows how to do a good portion of the job so training or retraining will be minimal. Unlike today the Regulars & volunteer officers had a little more control in assigning troops to specific duties.

The kit available to an Ordnance Sgt included enough spare parts to keep 1000 arms in working order for a year, it is interesting to look at that parts list. It gives an idea of what was expected to be needed. By and far nipples and mainsprings head the list w/ various screws right behind. As any smithy will tell you the right screw is a necessity, unnecesarily retapping is right out.

As for culling the field of excess arms... you have to carry the field to do that. Which IMO would make a CS armorer in the western armies even more vital. Not so much for the eastern boys who were better supplied and more consistantly equipped as well as closer to their bases of operation. The Arms returns for Forrests command, while certainly not neccesarily an indicator for all CS Cav units, would show a lot of work for an armorer of any kind.

The instances I have found of Regt Armorers are of men doing it as an additional duty and all as NCO's.

One particular ord return, Aug of 63 IIRC, has always interested me as it showed one company w/ M1841, M1842 (both rifled & smooth), M1861, and P53. W/ the exception of the M1842 all at least in .58. The Regiment as a whole showed .54, .58, .69, .71. Minimal consistant parts commanality, not the work of the average private to fit any pieces together that might need some work. Frankly, not the job of the QM who has plenty of work to do already just feeding and clothing the men. The job of the Regt Armorer is defined, IIRC, in the 61 Ord Manual & 64 the Instructions for making Quarterly returns.

Exerpted from Instructions for Making Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores 1 May 1864. Para 65. Regimental Armorers.-Commanding oficers of all regiments armed with any muskets, rifles or carbines, other than the Springfield rifled musket, 1855-'61-'63, are authorized to detail from their regiments a competent and skillful mechanic to act
as an armorer to repair the arms of the regiment. Requisitions for a set of armorers' tools, and such spare parts as are required, stating particularly the kind and calibre of the arm, will be made by commanders of regiments entitled to armorers under this order; which requisitions, after being duly approved at the department or army headquarters, will be forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance, at Washington, for final action. Genl Orders, No 189, A.G.O., Washington, November 18,1862

Para 66. Payment of Armorers- Regimental armorers are no longer entitled to extra pay."

As is evident in 1864 extra pay for the regimental armorer was eliminated suggesting that there had been prior, how much? For some reason the sum of $2 a month comes to mind but I can't recall where the memory comes from. Also Para 65 pretty much spells it out that such a thing as a Regt Armorer existed at least in the US and even goes so far as to spell out that he was authorized a set of tools. What I've never found is a list of those tools but extrapalated one from the tools listed for an armorer in the Ordnance Manual. IMO a Regt armorer in the CS would be every bit if not more important.

[OldKingCrow]

Originally Posted by Johan Steele

Minimal consistant parts commanality, not the work of the average private to fit any pieces together that might need some work. Frankly, not the job of the QM who has plenty of work to do already just feeding and clothing the men. The job of the Regt Armorer is defined, IIRC, in the 61 Ord Manual & 64 the Instructions for making Quarterly returns.

Notwithstanding the lack of primary, first person accounts or evidence thus far, it sounds like you are well on your way to creating a great specialty impression.

[Pvt Schnapps]

The General Order authorizing regimental armorers:

War Dep't, Adjutant General's Office,

No. 189. Washington, November 18,1862.

I.—Commanding officers of all regiments armed with any muskets, rifles, or carbines, other than the Springfield Rifled Musket, model of 1855-'61, are authorized to detail from their regiments each a competent and skillful mechanic to act as an armorer to repair the arms of the regiment.

Suitable tools and the necessary spare parts will be provided by the Ordnance Department.

Accounts for the extra-duty pay allowed by paragraph 902, General Regulations for the Army, for such services, will be made, in duplicate, on Form No. 13, Ordnance Regulations, special blanks for which must be obtained from the Ordnance Bureau, City of Washington. These accounts, duly certified by the Regimental Commander, and accompanied by a certified copy of the Regimental Order placing the armorer on extra duty, will be forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance, Washington, D. C., or to the Chief Ordnance officer at the headquarters of the Department, or Army, for their approval; and, when so approved, will be paid at the nearest Arsenal, or by any Disbursing Officer of Ordnance in the field.

Requisitions for one set of armorer's tools, and such spare parts as are required, stating particularly the kind and calibre of the arm, will be made by Commanders of Regiments entitled to armorers under this order, which requisitions, after being duly approved at the Department, or Army, headquarters, will be forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance, at Washington, for final action.

II.—To meet the provisions of the above order, paragraph 905, General Regulations, is amended by inserting after the word " Companies," in the third line, the following: " and armorers for repairing arms of regiments serving as Infantry, or Cavalry."

III.—The fourth line of paragraph 1023, General Regulations is modified to read as follows: "may require—the tale of ordnance and ordnance stores excepted," &c.

By Order Of The Secretary Of War:

E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General

Armorer's tools are listed on pp. 138-139 of the 1863 "Instructions for Making Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores" aka "Ordnance Memoranda No. 1." There are a lot of them, so you'll have to find the reference yourself. A number of sutlers have copies.

Kautz notes in Customs of Service for Noncommissioned Officers and Soldiers that the Regimental Armorer reports to the commanding officer (para. 282) and that notwithstanding the act of March 3 1863, extra-duty pay remained payable according to a decision of the Third Auditor pending revision of the Regulations. For clerks and other special detailees at division level and above, including military personnel in the departments in Washington, extra-duty pay remained payable to the end of the war. I think.

The Regulations provided, for soldiers east of the Rockies, per diem of twenty-five cents for unskilled and forty cents for skilled laborers (such as clerks and mechanics -- see para. 902). An armorer could then expect $12 extra a month -- quite a nice graft.

Even after the suspension of extra-duty pay at regimental level, he could at least stay on daily duty or detached service, which still beats getting shot at.

[David Fox]

I don't know how valuable Rebel regimental armourers were gleaning discarded arms from western battlefields for the AOT, Comrade Steele. But for Chickamauga, it were them Yankees pretty-much policing-up the battlefields.

[Johan Steele]

Mr Fox, that's what I meant in that a CS Regt Armorer wouldn't have all that much access to spares gleaned from the field to supplement efforts to keep arms in combat ready condition.... I'm not being clear again. My apologies.

[Johan Steele]

Mr Schaffner, IIRC the list of tools for an armorer in the 1863 manual is for an armorer in an armory. There is an almost identical one in the 1861 manual. It's from that list that I put together the list of what I thought would be present, or at least representative.

If you note anything I overlooked or missed please let me know.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Did you mean this Ordnance Manual or one like it?

http://books.google.com/books?id=dKl...ols%22&f=false

In addition to the tools for workmen at armories, there's a description of a box of armorer's tools carried on a battery wagon (page 354) for field use. It weighs a hundred pounds, so if the same sort of thing was carried by an infantry regiment it would obviously have to stay with the wagons. But it could be that the infantry or cavalry regimental armorer isn't expected to do repairs while separated from the train.

Here's another source, a History of the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment, which, on page 163, seems to indicate that the tools made up a bit of a load. It also confirms the extra-duty pay amount:

http://books.google.com/books?id=m2M...uskets&f=false

By virtue of general order No. 189, from the war department, each regimental commander, whose regiment was armed with any other arms than the Springfield rifled muskets of the years 1855— '61, was authorized to appoint an armorer, who was required to be a competent and skilful mechanic. He was to receive forty cents a day in addition to his pay as soldier. I appointed corporal Quimby, of company H, to this position. The ordnance department furnished him with a chest of tools and spare parts, which enabled him to repair our Austrian rifles whenever they required it. It was found to be a great convenience in the field, and many a rifle that would otherwise have been thrown aside as worthless, was saved to the government. The chest of tools included a small forge and a peck of coal.

[Johan Steele]

An idea of what the war dept thought about the need of spares. An interesting list in what it provides


Spare Parts for 1000 Rifles M1855 one year in the field

2 Barrels
30 vent screws
20 rear sights
10 breech screws
30 tang screws
50 cone screws
2 lock screws
5 lock plates
25 hammers
20 tumblers
100 tumbler screws
20 bridles
100 bridle screws
20 sears
50 sear screws
50 Main springs
40 “ “ swivels
40 “ “ “ rivets
40 feed fingers
100 “ “ springs
100 “ “ “ screws
20 Magazine covers
20 “ “ studs
20 “ “ “ rivets
100 “ “ catches
100 “ “ “ screws
20 lower band springs
30 side screw washers
10 Guard Plates
20 “ bows
40 “ “ nuts
50 “ “ “ swivels & rivets
10 triggers
10 “ screws
50 Guard plate screws
2 Butt plates
20 “ “ screws
5 Box plate w/ catches
10 ” “ “ screws
10 “ “ “ springs
10 “ “ “ “ screws
50 Ramrods
10 “ stops
30 stocks
50 wipers
10 ball screws
10 spring vises
10 tumbler & wire punches
5 bullet molds
5 swags for balls
30 sword bayonets
20 tampions
25 sword bayonet lock pins
50 “ “ “ “springs
50 “ “ “ “ “ screws