Armament in the Army of the Potomac - Fredericksburg

[Dignann]

The Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP has recently posted some very interesting information. The park has uploaded a document, which the public can download, that lists the armament in the Army of the Potomac during the final quarter of 1862. The data is taken from the ordnance returns for that period and lists the number and type of weapon, down to the company and battery level, within each regiment. You can access the data, which is in a pdf format, by visiting this page: http://www.nps.gov/frsp/historycultu...ericksburg.htm

Some companies, batteries and regiments failed to file returns, or the returns were lost, so the data is not entirely complete. That said, the majority of the units did comply and it presents some interesting and useful information. It appears that, for the most part, regiments were uniformly armed. A notable exception was the 46th New York. One can only imagine what the poor Ordnance Sergeant went through to keep that regiment supplied with the correct ammunition.

Here are some stats I came up with for the infantry. The names of the weapons are as given on the tabulated returns.


80,569 infantry weapons reported

37,417 – Springfield Rifled Muskets, model 1855, 1861, N.A. and contract. Calibre .58 – 46%
20,135 – Enfield Rifled Muskets. Calibre .58 and .577 – 25%
8,292 – Austrian Rifled Muskets, quadrangular bayonet. Calibre .54 and .55 – 10%
7,882 – Smooth-bored Muskets, model 1842. Calibre .69 – 10%
1,622 – Rifled Muskets, model 1842, N.A. or contract. Calibre .69 – 2%
1,214 – Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sight, Q. bayonet. Calibre .58 – 2%
804 – Smooth-bored Musket altered to percussion. Calibre .69 – 1%
618 – U.S. Rifles, model 1840. Calibre .54 – less than 1%
456 – French Rifled Muskets, triangular bayonet. Calibre .58 – less than 1%
422 – Sharp’s Breech-loading Rifles, triangular bayonet. Calibre .52 – less than 1%
380 – Enfield Rifles, sabre bayonet. Calibre .58 and .577 – less than 1%
317 – U.S. Rifles, sword bayonet, model 1840, 1845. Calibre .58 – less than 1%
289 – Austrian Rifled Muskets, leaf and block sights, Q. bayonet. Calibre 577 – less than 1%
280 – Belgian or Vincennes Rifles, sabre bayonet. Calibre .69 to .71 – less than 1%
271 – “Jager” Rifle, sword bayonet. Calibre .54 – less than 1%
76 – Austrian and Prussian Rifled Muskets. Calibre .69 to .70 – less than 1%
72 – “Dresden” and “Suhl” Rifled Muskets. Calibre .58 – less than 1%
17 – Rifled Musket “altered to percussion,” N.A. or contract. Calibre .69 – less than 1%
3 – Austrian, Belgian or French Rifled Muskets. Calibre .70 or .701 – less than 1%
2 – Light French Rifle or “Leige,” sabre bayonet. Calibre .577 – less than 1%

Imported – 31,470 – 39%

Smooth-bored – 8,686 – 11%

Austrians – 9,795 – 12%

The Ordnance Department classified the weapons, based upon type.
1st Class Weapons – 59,819 – 74%
2nd Class Weapons – 11,988 – 15%
3rd Class Weapons – 8,762 – 11%


Eric

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Armament in the Army of the Potomac - Fredericksburg

Hi,

Thanks for posting the information. I had no clue that the AOP was issueing that many different calibers. It must have been a pain trying to issue the correct ammuntition to the units!!!!!!!!!!

For example, the 46th New York Infantry reported that within its ten companies it had eight different types of long arms of at least four different calibers. This surely made supplying ammunition difficult.

In this case just issueing the ammuntition to the companys would have been difficult, to say the least.

[David Fox]

Re: Armament in the Army of the Potomac - Fredericksburg

It always tickles me when I come across assertions that some in the Potomac Army were carrying unaltered flintlock muskets at Fredericksburg. Proof proved: that Confederate ordnance personel policed-up eight(?) such from the field in front of Marye's Heights after the 13 December, 1862 debacle. What that proves, of course, is eight Rebs were sufficiently desperate to crawl out onto the killing ground the night before to exchange their flinters for Yankee percussion weapons.

[Dignann]

Re: Armament in the Army of the Potomac - Fredericksburg

Good point, David. The number and type of arms listed in Briscoe G. Baldwin's report does not provide enough info to suggest how many of the post-battle collected arms were originally in Confederate hands.

Briscoe's full report is below, as found in the OR, Vol. 21, page 568

Eric

RETURN OF SMALL-ARMS, AMMUNITION, &c., COLLECTED ON The BATTLE-FIELD BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG, IN THE ENGAGEMENTS OF DECEMBER 12 AND 13, 1862.

Small-arms:

Springfield rifles - 250
Improved muskets - 3,148
Altered muskets - 1,136
Austrian rifles - 772
Belgian rifles - 312
Belgian muskets - 78
Springfield muskets - 42
Mississippi rifles - 478
Flint-lock muskets - 13
Enfield rifles, caliber .69 - 26
Enfield rifles, caliber .57 - 59
Damaged guns - 1,406

RECAPITULATION

Total on hand at the reserve trains - 7,720
Total retained by the First Army Corps - 2,166
Total retained by the Second Army Corps - 513
Total forwarded to Richmond - 692
Grand total - 11,091

Ammunition, &c.:

Caliber .69 - 80,000
Calibers .57 and .58 - 94,000
Caliber .54 - 31,000
Mixed and damaged cartridges - 50,000
Grand total ammunition (rounds) - 255,000

Infantry accouterments - 1,800

RECAPITULATION IN FULL.

Grand total arms collected - 11,091
Probable loss of our troops - 2,000
Grand total captured (stands) - 9,091
Grand total ammunition (rounds) - 255,000
Grand total accouterments (sets) - 1,800

Respectfully submitted.

BRISCOE G. BALDWIN,
Lieut. Col. and Chief of Ordnance, Army of Northern Virginia.

HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

Ordnance Office, January 20, 1863.