Nov. 16 Report of Lieut. Col. William Maynadier, U. S. Ordnance Department, of the expenditures upon and losses at the armory

ORDNANCE OFFICE, Washington, November 16, 1861.

SIR: In answer to the letter [following] of the Hon. John P. Hale, chairman of the committee of the Senate, which you referred to this office, I have the honor to report that the U. S. Armory at Harper’s Ferry was established in the year 1796.

The amount expended on the same is–-

For land purchased at different times$45,477
For improvements thereon for water-power, canals, embankments, walls, and water privileges, and for hydraulic machinery and buildings of an kinds1,787,430
Total, exclusive of the amount expended in the manufacture and repair of arms1,832,907

The latest annual inventory of the property belonging to the United States at that armory is dated June 30, 1860, in which the value of all the property on hand at that date is appraised as follows, viz:

1,6691 acres of land$37,457
Mill-dams, canals, water-powers, and hydraulic machinery233,279
Forges, rolling-mills, machine-shops, storehouses, dwellings, and other buildings341,221
Amount of real estate611,957
Machines used in workshops$270,235
Tools used in service109,560
379,795
Unwrought materials on hand100,043
Parts of arms in progress93,573
193,616
20,507 arms of different models in store285,145
Total appraised value June 30, 18601,470,513

By the latest returns received at this office from the armory, it appears that the number of arms in store when the armory was destroyed in April, 1861, was reduced to 4,287, the value of which was about $64,000.

We may assume that the quantity and value of all other property than the arms in store remained without material change from June, 1860, to April, 1861. The diminished number of arms in store at the latter date reduces that item in the inventory from $285,145 to $164,300, and the total appraised value of all the property from $1,470,513 to $1,207,668.

Respectfully, &c.,

WM. MAYNADIER,
Lieutenant-Colonel, Ordnance.

Hon. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War.

Sources

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. II. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.