FAYETTEVILLE RIFLE
.58 cal., lockplate marked "FAYETTEVILLE" with (Type II, III, and IV) or without (Type I) eagle over "C.S.A.", high humpback (Type I), low humpback (Type II), or no humpback (Type III and IV), dated 1861-1862 (Type I), 1...
FAYETTEVILLE ARSENAL
Also known as the Fayetteville Armory, the Fayetteville Arsenal was built in 1838 after the United States government realized during the War of 1812 that there were not enough armories and ammunition factories to adequately protect the country. A program was instituted to provide more federal arsenals so that no area of the country would be too far away from an arms depot. The cornerstone for the Fayetteville Arsenal was laid on April 9, 1838.
When North Carolina seceded from the Union, Governor Ellis commissioned Warren Winslow to bring about the peaceful, if possible, surrender of the Fayetteville Arsenal. General Walker Draughon, then in command of the North Carolina Militia, was given the order to take possession of the arsenal. He mobilized the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry (FILI, the oldest private military organization in the State, organized in 1793) under the command of Major Wright Huske, and the LaFayette Light Infantry, commanded by Capt. Joseph B. Starr. Approximately 500 Confederate troops arrived on April 22, 1861. The representative of the Union forces, Lt. DeLagnel, decided that resistance was fruitless and surrendered the arsenal without incident. It was vacated by Union forces on April 27, 1861, and Confederate Major Huske took up command.
After the fall of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry to Union forces, plans went underway to relocate its rifle making machinery to new workshops at the Fayetteville Arsenal. Machinery from Harpers Ferry was installed in October 1861, and the arsenal became a major supplier of small arms to the Confederate troops. The principal armament was known as the Fayetteville Rifle. At its peak, the arsenal produced 500 rifles per month and various numbers of other larger ordnance, as well as cartridges, swords, and bayonets. Over one hundred workmen from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal had relocated with their families to Fayetteville. In the middle years of the war, young ladies of the area were employed in the making of cartridges and as clerks.
In 1865, as Union General William T. Sherman led his forces on the Carolinas Campaign, the Fayetteville Arsenal was an obvious target. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, resistance by Confederate forces proved futile and Sherman entered Fayetteville on March 11, 1865 and took possession of the arsenal (which had been stripped of its arms, munitions, and useful machinery by the retreating Confederates). The Harpers Ferry rifle manufacturing machinery was said to have been hidden in the Egypt, NC coal mines. Continuing his scorched earth policy, Sherman ordered the arsenal razed to the ground. His soldiers used railroad rails as battering rams to knock the building down then set the remains on fire. As the fire raged, some remaining artillery shells exploded and completed the devastation.
When North Carolina seceded from the Union, Governor Ellis commissioned Warren Winslow to bring about the peaceful, if possible, surrender of the Fayetteville Arsenal. General Walker Draughon, then in command of the North Carolina Militia, was given the order to take possession of the arsenal. He mobilized the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry (FILI, the oldest private military organization in the State, organized in 1793) under the command of Major Wright Huske, and the LaFayette Light Infantry, commanded by Capt. Joseph B. Starr. Approximately 500 Confederate troops arrived on April 22, 1861. The representative of the Union forces, Lt. DeLagnel, decided that resistance was fruitless and surrendered the arsenal without incident. It was vacated by Union forces on April 27, 1861, and Confederate Major Huske took up command.
After the fall of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry to Union forces, plans went underway to relocate its rifle making machinery to new workshops at the Fayetteville Arsenal. Machinery from Harpers Ferry was installed in October 1861, and the arsenal became a major supplier of small arms to the Confederate troops. The principal armament was known as the Fayetteville Rifle. At its peak, the arsenal produced 500 rifles per month and various numbers of other larger ordnance, as well as cartridges, swords, and bayonets. Over one hundred workmen from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal had relocated with their families to Fayetteville. In the middle years of the war, young ladies of the area were employed in the making of cartridges and as clerks.
In 1865, as Union General William T. Sherman led his forces on the Carolinas Campaign, the Fayetteville Arsenal was an obvious target. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, resistance by Confederate forces proved futile and Sherman entered Fayetteville on March 11, 1865 and took possession of the arsenal (which had been stripped of its arms, munitions, and useful machinery by the retreating Confederates). The Harpers Ferry rifle manufacturing machinery was said to have been hidden in the Egypt, NC coal mines. Continuing his scorched earth policy, Sherman ordered the arsenal razed to the ground. His soldiers used railroad rails as battering rams to knock the building down then set the remains on fire. As the fire raged, some remaining artillery shells exploded and completed the devastation.
Located in Fayetteville, NC, 1838-1865.
FAYETTEVILLE ARSENAL Antiques Models