The Acquisition and Use of Foreign Shoulder Arms by the Union Army 1861-1865

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/pz50gx43x

Abstract

The acquisition and use of foreign shoulder-arms by the Union Army has long been overlooked as an important phase of the American Civil War, and the part which these arms played in the Union victory neglected. In order to show the value of foreign shoulder-arms and their employment by the Union Army, a complete investigation of all
the relevant published documents of the United States was made, and the manuscript records of the War, State, Treasury and Ordnance Departments were searched for available data. In these documents, one finds evidence of unnecessary competition, high prices, speculation and profiteering which forced the people of the Union to pay exorbitant prices for a means of defense that had been neglected by the administrations which preceded Lincoln's; one also finds that these arms were issued in quantity to regiments engaged in combat.

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