Round Ball to Rim Fire: A Review
By
James Wudarczyk
2004

(This review originally appeared in the January 2002 issue of “The Arsenal,” the newsletter of the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table. Permission to reproduce this selection has been granted to the Lawrenceville Historical Society by Ulli Baumann, editor of “The Arsenal.”

Round Ball to Rim Fire: A History of Civil War Small Arms Ammunition (Part One) by Dean S. Thomas.

It is refreshing to see the recent explosion of interest in Civil War and local history. While there still remains a great deal of work that needs to be accomplished, several new books should be welcomed by Civil War buffs.

Foremost among these works is From Round Ball to Rim Fire by Dean Thomas. The book contains various chapters on each of the nation’s arsenals and includes valuable photographs, as well as thoroughly researched and well-documented text.

There is an entire section relating to the Allegheny Arsenal. The book’s author, Dean Thomas, acknowledges the GPCW Round Table’s own John Carnprobst (the foremost authority on the Allegheny Arsenal, arsenals in general, and 19th century ordnance) for photographs and other historical materials relating to the Pittsburgh facility. In addition to the chapter on the Allegheny Arsenal (pages 40 to 47), there are also a number of references to this government reservation throughout the book.

Although the book is an elaborate coffee table production, the vast amount of historical data is most likely to intrigue serious researchers of Civil War era ordnance. Thomas provides a detailed examination of ammunition production, thorough graphs, technical innovations and supply difficulties. Virtually every page of this handsome volume contains photographs of the arsenals, patent illustrations, bullet manufacturing machinery, and pictures of various cartridges.

Thomas’ work is a treasure of trivia. For example, he quotes an 1871 footnote in the 10th Maine’s Infantry regimental history, in which the chronicler recalled the battle of Antietam, “In our regiment we had the combustible envelope cartridge manufactured by Johnston and Dow, New York, which is put in the musket entire without tearing the paper. Consequently our fire was rapid compared with what was common and with a muzzle-loader. We never learned why they were not supplied to the army afterward, nor are we aware that any considerable number of regiments had them this day.”

The book also makes ample references to Thomas Jackson Rodman. While this officer made numerous scientific innovations in the casting of cannon, Thomas uncovered much of Rodman’s work relating to small caliber ammunition, as well as his work at Watervliet.

In his examination of some of the supply problems, Thomas quotes a letter from Major Robert H. K. Whiteley, dated February 23, 1863, “The capacity of two presses at this Arsenal is to produce 40,000 bullets per diem . . .which is about one-fourth of the quantity consumed daily.” But he continued, “The manufacture of small arm cartridges must stop for want of storeroom shortly unless relieved by issue. I have eight million at this moment stored in a leaky frame shed, by no means safe from accident by fire.”

Thomas also resurrected two incidents of poor quality at the Allegheny Arsenal. However, he notes that inferior quality was an exception to the rule, and as the text noted, sometimes there was an explanation for the complaint. When Lieutenant Colonel G. D. Ramsay, the commander of the Washington Arsenal, complained that the ball of the Enfield cartridge received from Pittsburgh was too large, Symington responded, “. . . For the Enfield rifle a sample gun of inferior quality, was sent here from the State of Ohio, by which to make the cartridge.”

On another occasion, in May of 1862, the 16th Ohio complained that “many of the Cartridges were entirely destitute of Powder and many others were only partially filled.” Symington argued that state arsenals probably reused some of the cartridge boxes since pasteboard was not used for cartridge paper at the Allegheny Arsenal.

The Thomas book is nothing short of a masterpiece, detailing the difficulties and triumphs of the arsenal system.

For cost of the book and shipping charges, please write to Dean S. Thomas, Thomas Publications, P.O. Box 3031, Gettysburg, PA 17325.