How to get Federal Ordnance Reports?

Mudhenwso

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Joined
Jun 21, 2020
Greetings! I am trying to ascertain what weapons the 10th Missouri Infantry (Federal) and 49th Missouri Infantry (Federal) would have carried during the war. I am familiar with Ken Baumann's "Arming the Suckers" which details the weapons of the Illinois regiments based on their Ordnance Reports. Specific questions:
1. I've searched the Frost Regimental History of the 10th MO and found no reference to the type of weapons issued. Nothing in the correspondence of their Lt. Col Leonidas Horney. Any idea where I should go next?
2. Does anyone know how to contact Ken Baumann? There is a young write in Albuquerque with the same name, but he writes mystery novels.
3. Does anyone have any pictures of the soldiers of either regiment that would give a clue?
4. I've got this photo of two men from the 49th Missouri, but I don't know what to look for to identify the muskets they are carrying.

Thanks for any help or advice!
Jeremiah Guthrie and Henry Windmiller 1865c..jpg
 
The records of weapons issued to state troops will be at the state level and not Fed. Lets see if @johan_steele knows what weapons these guys are holding.
 
U.S. Army regulations required that commanders submit reports on the ordnance held by their units at the end of every quarter. The reports went to the War Department and the data was entered by clerks there into ledgers beginning at the end of the 3rd quarter of 1862. The ledgers for the 3rd quarter of 1862 and 1st quarter of 1865 are very incomplete. In between, not all regiments are represented, and even if a regiment was, all companies may not be listed. Detached duty, incompetence at the unit or the War Department, lost paperwork; who knows? It's more the rule than the exception. Very few units have all 10 [infantry] or 12 [cavalry and heavy artillery] companies listed in the ledgers for the entire period of their service covered by the ledgers. Since the ledgers existed, the Archives destroyed the original unit reports in the 1890s to save space. Then there is the problem of reading the clerks' handwriting in the legers. The National Archives microfilmed the legers and they are available on microfilm and CD ( M1281) for approximately $1 thousand per set. Should you be in Washington after COVID, the microfilm may be reviewed at main Archives. A regional branch of the Archives or a state library near you might have a copy.

I have a CD copy of the the Quarterly Ordnance Reports, and have gone through it for my research interest in the use of Austrian weapons by the Federals and Confederates during the Civil War. Hence, the following data on Austrian weapons in your two regiments:

10th Missouri Infantry: The 10th was organized at St. Louis in August 1861, and was mustered out of service on 31 October 1864.

The Quarterly Ordnance Reports contain the following regarding the 10th​:

QuarterWeaponCaliberNumber/Comment
1st, 1863Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .55388 (8 companies reporting)
2[nd, 1863Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .55299 (10 companies reporting)
3rd, 1863Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .554 (9 companies reporting)
4th, 1864Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .551 (Company D. 10 companies reporting)
1st, 1864Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .551 (Company D. 10 companies reporting)
2nd, 1864Muster 1854, Type I.54 and .551 (Company D. 10 companies reporting)

Between the 1st​ quarter of 1863 and the 2nd​ quarter of 1864 the 10th​ was involved in the Battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion’s Hill; the Siege of Vicksburg; and operations in Tennessee and Georgia. (Dyer, III, 1327; M1281, NARA)

49th Missouri Infantry: The 49th was organized at Warrenton, Mexico, Macon, and St. Louis between 31 August 1864 and 5 February 1865, and was mustered out of service on 20 December 1865.

The Quarterly Ordnance Reports contain the following regarding the 49th​:

QuarterWeaponCaliberNumber/Comment
4th, 1864Muster 1854, Type II.58105 (10 companies reporting)

In the 4th quarter of 1864 the 49th was in the process of organization, with elements of the regiment being used to guard the Northern Missouri Railroad from guerillas. (Dyer, III, 1338; M1281, NARA)

If you want more than the above incomplete data, my research services and my CD might be engaged for a suitable fee. Contact me off line.

Regards,
Don Dixon
 
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