As soon as the United States troops had evacuated the place, the
citizens and armorers went to work to save the armory as far as possible
from destruction, and to secure valuable material stored in it. The
master armorer, Armistead Ball, so bravely and skillfully directed these
efforts, that a large part of the machinery and materials was saved from
the flames. The subduing of the fire was a dangerous and difficult task,
and great credit is due to those who, under the orders of Master Armorer
Ball, attempted and achieved it. When the fire was extinguished, the
work was continued and persevered in until all the valuable machinery
and material had been collected, boxed, and shipped to Richmond, about
the end of the summer of 1861. The machinery thus secured was divided
between the arsenals at Richmond, Virginia, and Fayetteville, North
Carolina, and, when repaired and put in working condition, supplied to
some extent the want which existed in the South of means for the
alteration and repair of old or injured arms, and finally contributed to
increase the very scanty supply of arms with which our country was
furnished when the war began. The practice of the Federal Government,
which had kept the construction and manufacture of the material of war
at the North, had consequently left the South without the requisite
number of skilled workmen by whose labor machinery could at once be made
fully effective if it were obtained; indeed, the want of such employees
prevented the small amount of machinery on hand from being worked to its
full capacity.
Pages:
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503