Also known as: U.S. Ordnance Department, Ordnance Bureau.
| Branch | Bureau of the United States Army |
|---|---|
| Established | 1812 |
| Responsibility | Design, procurement, storage, and issue of ordnance |
| Works through | National arsenals and armories |
Arming the army
The United States Ordnance Department was the branch of the Army charged with everything to do with its weapons: designing and adopting guns and ammunition, procuring them from national armories and private contractors, proving and inspecting them, and storing and issuing them through a network of arsenals.
Headed by the Chief of Ordnance, the department set the standard patterns of American artillery and small arms and, in the Civil War, managed the enormous task of arming the Federal forces. The Confederacy created a corresponding Ordnance Bureau.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: manuals, reports, marking references, and collecting notes.
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.