28 



ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of 500,000 men. Some portion was to cover 

 deficiencies arising from an excess of force in 

 the field over the estimate for the previous 

 six months. 



The great mass of this force was calculated 

 to operate in Virginia and in the West. De- 

 tachments were engaged elsewhere. That por- 

 tion engaged in Virginia it was expected to 

 subsist by supplies drawn chiefly from the cities 

 of New York and Baltimore. That portion in 

 the West would be supplied from St. Louis and 

 the cities on the Ohio River. It is not possible 

 to obtain tire details of stores required for a 

 military force until a campaign has closed, and 

 the 'accounts of an army are made up by the re- 

 spective officers. Some facts representing the 

 unparalleled magnitude of these operations are 

 of interest. At the very extensive warehouses 

 occupied by the Government at Washington, 

 there were on hand, on the 12th of October, an 

 amount of stores represented by the following 

 figures : 



Pork, 3,000 barrels; beef, 6,000 barrels; 

 beef tongues, 200 barrels; bacon, 300,000 

 pounds; hams, 50,000 pounds; flour, 11,000 

 barrels; hard bread, 3,000,000 pounds; beans, 

 4,000 bushels ; rice, 1,000 pounds ; hominy, 

 10,000 pounds; riced barley, 20,000 pounds; 

 green coffee, 20,000 pounds; ground coffee, 

 40,000 pounds; tea,. 1,000 pounds; sugar, 

 2,000,000 pounds; vinegar, 70,000 gallons; 

 candles, 40,000 pounds; soap, 200,000 pounds; 

 salt, 40,000 bushels ; desiccated potatoes, 2,000 

 pounds; desiccated mixed vegetables, 17,000 

 pounds ; pickles, 278 kegs ; dried apples, 50,000 

 pounds; split peas, 4,000 bushels; molasses, 

 6,000 gallons; potatoes, 4,000 bushels. 



The receipts at these warehouses, for the 

 week ending the 12th of October, were as fol- 

 lows: 



1,000 barrels of pork; 2,000 barrels of beef; 

 1,850 barrels of tongues ; 76,000 pounds of 

 bacon; 300 barrels flour ; 850,000 pounds hard 

 bread; 3,500 bushels beans; 34,000 pounds 

 rice; 500 bushels hominy ; 20,000 pounds riced 

 barley ; 150,000 pounds roasted and ground 

 coffee; 100,000 pounds green coffee; 2,000 

 pounds tea; 750,000 pounds sugar; 9,000 gal- 

 lons vinegar; 34,000 pounds candles; 80,000 

 pounds soap; 8,000 pounds desiccated potatoes; 

 10,000 pounds mixed vegetables ; 30,000 pounds 

 dried apples; 1,000 bushels split peas; 3,000 

 bushels potatoes; 5,000 gallons molasses. 



For the previous three weeks the issues had 

 been about equal to the receipts. 



The following shows the prices paid by the 

 Government for the specified articles: 



Pork, $19 per barrel; beef, $15 per barrel; 

 beef tongues, $16 per barrel; bacon, 10 cents 

 per pound ; hams, 12 cents per pound ; flotH", 

 $750 per barrel ; hard bread, 4 cents per 

 pound; beans, $2 per bushel; rice, 7 cents per 

 pound ; hominy, 2^- cents per. pound ; riced 

 barley, 4 cents per pound ; ground coffee, 20 

 cents per pound; green coffee, 14 cents per 

 pound; tea, 50 cents per pound; sugar, 8 



cents per pound ; vinegar, 12| cents per gal- 

 lons ; candles, 26 cents per pound ; soap, 6 

 cents per pound ; salt, 5 cents per pound ; de- 

 siccated potatoes, 11 cents per pound ; desic- 

 cated mixed vegetables, 24 cents per pound ; 

 pickle, $3 75 per keg ; dried applies, 5| cents 

 per pound ; split peas, $2 per bushel ; molasses, 

 32 cents per gallon ; potatoes, 60 cento per 

 bushel. 



When the necessity of a bakery became ap- 

 parent, one was constructed in the exterior 

 vaults of the Capitol, under the supervision of 

 Lieut. Gate. From these ovens at least 50,000 

 loaves were sent out daily, during the winter, 

 to the troops around Washington. 



Infantry Arms. On the commencement of 

 the war the United States Government found 

 itself scantily supplied with small-arms, the ar- 

 mories in the Northern States having been in 

 great part stripped, and the arms removed to 

 the Southern States. (See CONFEDERATE STATES.) 

 The chief dependence for the supply of mus- 

 kets was upon the Springfield armory and that 

 at Harper's Ferry. The capacity of the few 

 private armories was only a few thousand 

 muskets annually ; and on the destruction of 

 the arsenal and armory. at Harper's Ferry on 

 the 19th of April, 1861, together with 15,000 

 muskets, to prevent their falling into the hands 

 of the Confederates, the resources of the Gov- 

 ernment were seriously diminished. It was, no 

 doubt, the want of arms that limited the call 

 of the President for volunteers, on the 15th of 

 April, to 75,000 men ; and until muskets could 

 be imported from Europe many regiments were 

 detained in their camps in the different States. 

 Orders were sent abroad by the Governors of 

 States, and many arms were imported at high 

 prices, although inferior, most of them very 

 much so, to those of American manufacture. 

 The Springfield armory, the capacity of which 

 was rated at only about 25,000 muskets annu- 

 ally, was enlarged as rapidly as possible, and 

 its production, assisted by outside machine 

 shops, was brought up at the close of the year 

 to about 8,000 muskets per month, and has since 

 been increased to about 15,000 a month. These 

 are rifled with three grooves, making one-half 

 turn in the length of a barrel of 40 inches. The 

 bore is 0.58 inch in diameter, and the projec- 

 tile used is a hollow base cylindro-conical shot 

 of lead. Including the bayonet, ramrod, and 

 other appendages, the number of pieces belong- 

 ing to the musket are 84 in number, 26 of 

 which are of steel, 2 of wood, and the remain- 

 der of iron. All of them are made by machin- 

 ery, and in all the guns the corresponding 

 pieces are so precisely alike that they may be 

 used indiscriminately, and, in case of damage, 

 the injured parts may be replaced without any 

 difficulty as to their fitting. By this system, 

 which is purely American, the arms are made 

 of uniform excellence, and are unsurpassed by 

 any produced by the best armories in Eu- 

 rope. Their estimated cost, from the official 

 reports, is $13 25 each for the gun alone, and 



