At the start of the Civil War, the United States had two Federal armories, one at Springfield, Massachusetts and the other at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The Harpers Ferry Armory seemed to continuously change hands during the war, but the Springfield Armory was securely in the North and never stopped working throughout the four years of the war.
You can go to Springfield Armory National Historic Site and see the main building and about half of the other buildings that existed in 1860. The site is administered by the National Park Service, and it is free. The address is 1 Armory St #2, Springfield, MA 01105. There is plenty of free parking right next to the Armory Museum. About half of the grounds are a technical college and a guard station is at the entrance. Just tell the guard that you are going to the armory and she or he will point you in the direction.
When you get there, you should approach the entry desk. I found both the ranger and the volunteers were extremely helpful in pointing out the exhibits and one volunteer took me around to several exhibits and he added his own substantial knowledge to my experience.
The museum is in what was the Main Arsenal Building of the Armory. It was used to store muskets. During the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of muskets were stored here before being sent out to the armies in the field.
The original buildings at the Armory were built of wood during the Washington and Adams administrations, but a fire in 1801 left several buildings in ruins. After this, buildings were built out of brick or sandstone.
When the War of 1812 broke out, the two armories failed to keep up with the demand for new muskets. The sudden demand for new weapons overwhelmed the small armories. Weapons manufactures were done almost entirely by hand, by highly skilled workmen. With the sudden demand during a war, new staff could not be trained quickly enough to increase production. The armory was only able to make 12,000 muskets per year during the war.
After the war, the physical plant was greatly expanded, new factory production methods were introduced, and the workforce expanded. Roswell Lee became post-war superintendent and he expanded to the Mill River where the “Water Works” were built to use water power to energize the manufacturing process. He was followed by James Ripley in 1841, who built the modern Main Arsenal in 1850, where the museum now stands. The Main Arsenal was big enough to hold 300,000 muskets. Ripley also developed the Model 1842 Musket, which was used in the early stages of the Civil War. This was made at both the Virginia and the Massachusetts armories using modern mass production techniques including using interchangeable parts. This meant that if a part broke, it could be replaced by a similar part manufactured at the armories without needing a skilled craftsman to individually manufacture a new piece.
From right in front of the Main Arsenal Building you can see the Hilltop Parade Square. There is an interpretive sign describing the buildings.
Below is a view from the Main Arsenal. The parade ground is used by children for sports and exercise today.
During the early part of the 19th Century there were few buildings outside of Washington that were “Federal Installations.” So, as the armory grew, its designers gave great attention to how it looked. They saw the armory as a chance to display the unity and power of the American nation. Unfortunately, its products would soon be used by Americans to kill other Americans.
At the entrance to the Main Arsenal, there are scattered around boxes that would have housed manufactured muskets designed, made and tested in other buildings on the grounds.
When entering the main room of the Arsenal, you will see the the “Original Blanchard Lathe.” Most of a 19th Century gun was made of wood. This lathe was an important development because it allowed a machine to carve out the same shape of the musket in a single piece of wood. This had been done a skilled craftsman before it was invented and a craftsman could finish one musket per day. With the Blanchard Lathe many identical gun stocks could be manufactured each day.
Here is the original lathe from the 1820s. Later on, it would be adapted to be powered by energy from the Water Works.
I was fortunate to be shown this by a volunteer, but there are explanatory plaques by this crucial piece of equipment.
Because this early machine is complex, ask the staff to explain it to you. I used to be an assembly line worker and I found this technology fascinating.
Below, you can see a piece of wood being lathed by the machine.
There are also other technologies on display, like this carpenter’s tool chest from the time of the Civil War.
There are several signs pointing out the involvement of the armory in the Civil War. In 1857, John Floyd, a Virginian, became Secretary of War under President Buchanan. In 1860, with secession in the air, he ordered the armory to open its doors to representatives of Georgia to show the future Confederates modern arms manufacture. He also sent 100,000 muskets into the future Confederate States. He would soon abandon his post and became a Confederate general.
While some of the arms manufactured at Springfield were shipped to the waiting Confederate armies, during the four years of the war, 800,000 rifled muskets were produced at the Springfield Armory and shipped to the Union armies.
The museum also shows the skill of the workers at the armory. These were by and large not military personnel. They were people from Springfield who developed the skills to manufacture the weapons, Some, like Horace Smith, worked at the armory, but then created their own arms firms. He created Smith and Wesson in Springfield.
The museum shows a number of other machines that were at use in the 19th and 20th Century armory.
It also demonstrates the shift from hand crafted parts to machine made interchangeable parts.
There is a good explanation of how, by the time of the Civil War, the armory was largely powered by water as an energy source.
From the years before the Civil War, the armory was a pioneer in the use of scientific tests to determine the effect of its innovations.
The wooden target at the bottom of this photo below tested how a bullet could penetrate a sheet of wood.
Below is a rifling machine that engraved the lines in a rifle. This was used during the Civil War.
Most of the parts of a musket were made of wood. This panel looks at how the armory did woodworking.
Below is a diorama of the main armory during the 19th Century. About half of it remains.
There are also displays of arms manufactured at both Harpers Ferry and at Springfield.
Several of the displays look at the weapons manufactured during the Civil War, including the new rifled muskets.
While the armory was most known for its muskets, it also produced a large number of edged weapons including swords, knives, and bayonets.
There is also an “Organ of Muskets” in a case. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the armory in the 1840s and saw hundreds of muskets stored this way and wrote a poem depressively contemplating this display of these instruments of death.
Because the need for weapons was so great during the Civil War, the War Department let out contracts to private arms manufacturers to make even more weapons. The Springfield Armory was in charge for setting the standards for these weapons and testing them.
The museum also went into Confederate weapons, which were largely weapons from the two U.S. armories and those imported from abroad.
The museum looks at carbines developed before and during the Civil War. These shorter weapons were usually carried by cavalry troopers.
Revolvers were used by officers, cavalrymen, as well as by those in the Navy.
In the room where the 17 minute film is shown, you can see Civil War rapid fire weapons like the Gatling Gun, and the Coffee Mill. These were the antecedents of the machine gun of the 20th Century.
While there are many still-extant buildings on the campus, the only one that is open to the public is the Main Arsenal where the museum is. Right behind the arsenal is the commander’s home. It was opened in 1845 and it is huge. James Ripley was ripped in the press for building himself a home that would have made many 19th Century capitalists blush with shame.
Here is a closeup of the home.
For those of you who do not live in such a huge house, I might offer a suggestion on where to eat. In West Springfield, just fifteen minutes away, is the White Hut. The White Hut is nearly nine decades old. It offers hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and onion rings. Not much else. It was a single outlet chain restaurant based on White Castle. It now has a second outlet in Mount Holyoke. Get the footlong hot dog with chili or else a double cheeseburger with fried onions!
The food is inexpensive and it comes at you quick.
There are only two tables in the Hut, so most people get it to go. I went in when they were not busy and got my own table. When you walk in, the staff will shout out “What do you want?” and even though it seems random, just tell them what you want.
White Hut opens at 6:30AM and closes at 6:30PM. It is located at 280 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA 01089.
I had last visited the armory two decades ago with my wife and children. As much as I learned during both visits, I was sorry to that the only part of the extensive armory campus is still the main floor of the Main Arsenal. Since the museum tries to tell the story of the armory from the War of 1812, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and dozens of smaller actions, the museum could be expanded to another floor in the Arsenal building. Also, the lives of the military men and the civilian workers could be explored by opening up the commandant’s home to look at the people who worked here.
