372 
STEPHEN VINCENT BENET. 
ing the period of the Civil War, and was for many years used 
as a text book at the Military Academy. In 1868 he served 
as assistant counsel in the Dyer court of inquiry, and ac¬ 
quitted himself with credit in the long and intricate pro¬ 
ceedings accompanying that case. In 1855 the University 
of Georgia conferred upon him the degree of A. M., and in 
1889 Georgetown University conferred that of LL. D. 
As an ordnance officer, Benet was promoted in due course 
through the consecutive grades of lieutenant, captain, and 
major, and, skipping those of lieutenant colonel and colonel, 
received the marked distinction of being promoted at once 
to be Chief of Ordnance, with the rank of brigadier general. 
In the meantime he had served as assistant at Watervliet, 
Frankford, and St. Louis arsenals, and in the Bureau at Wash¬ 
ington, and had two tours of duty at the Military Academy, 
first in the department of ethics and law, already mentioned, 
and afterward as instructor of ordnance and gunnery, at the 
head of that department. While serving in the latter ca¬ 
pacity, 1861-1864, he was also employed as inspector of ord¬ 
nance and projectiles and in experimenting at the West Point 
foundry with the Parrott rifled guns, which were extensively 
used during the war. In 1864 he was assigned to command 
the Frankford arsenal. He was thus during the period of 
the Civil War engaged upon most important duty connected 
with the proper manufacture and supply of war material, 
and for this reason his application to take an active part in 
the field operations was denied. By the act of Congress of 
March 13, 1865, he was made brevet major and brevet lieu¬ 
tenant colonel for faithful and meritorious service in the 
performance of these duties. 
His services in command of Frankford arsenal were con¬ 
spicuous for the successful introduction of the metallic car¬ 
tridge for breech-loading small arms in the United States 
service, and the unexampled development of the machinery 
for making this ammunition, in which he was ably assisted 
by Master Armorer R. Bolton and Foreman Jabez H. Gill. 
The Springfield rifle of this period was caliber .50. The 
