archieclement
Colonel
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2011
- Location
- mo
A lot has been made of how poorly the MSG was armed, even fighting on a brush covered hillside allowing the range to close, the weaker weapons (squirrel rifles or a shotgun) would have still been at a huge a disadvantage , not being able to penetrate cover as well despite the shorter range. Yet the casualties for the battle were remarkably even. So heres what I've found......
In the months leading up to the crisis James Harding Quartermaster-General for Missouri acquired roughly 300 rifle/muskets of .58 caliber, and nearly 600 muskets of .69 caliber, plus hundreds of civilian type arms (not clear if they would be lighter caliber like squirrel rifles or heavier like .50 caliber Hawkins)
Some prewar companies were already armed with muskets, example a Louisiana company acquired 75 muskets from its prewar parent unit, (most prewar militia were divided so split into MSG and Home guard branches)
Some units captured arms on the way to WC, Scott O'Kane and the Warsaw Grays of the 4inf regt, 8th div surprised and captured a union militia at Cole Camp capturing 362 muskets, then another 150 from a german home guard in a neighboring county
Accounts vary as to what was acquired from the liberty arsenal, but from wiki----The Southern sympathizers captured three six-pounder brass cannons and carriages; 12 unmounted six-pounder iron guns; one three-pounder iron gun; two battery wagons; five caissons; two forges, artillery equipment and several hundred rounds of artillery ammunition (mostly solid shot and canister.) They also took 1,180 percussion muskets, 243 percussion rifles, 121 rifle carbines, 923 percussion pistols, 419 cavalry sabers, 39 cavalry swords, 20 cavalry and artillery musketoons, 400,000 cartridges, 1,000 pounds of cannon powder, 9,900 pounds of musket power, and 1,800 pounds of rifle powder.
At WC Pierce loans the MSG 600 flintlock mukets
More arms were captured at KC warehouse that were going to KS army units, but numbers isn't known. John McCorkle stated his Cav Company was armed at WC with burnside carbines taken from this warehouse.
So while the majority of the MSG may have not been regularly equipped with military arms, considering Lyon kept some reserves during most the fight on Bloody Hill limiting his firing lines to say 3000 or so, its not unreasonable to speculate in my opinion the MSG could and probally did bring to bear close to the same numbers of military firepower, offsetting the less well armed, which would account for the causalities remaining so even
In the months leading up to the crisis James Harding Quartermaster-General for Missouri acquired roughly 300 rifle/muskets of .58 caliber, and nearly 600 muskets of .69 caliber, plus hundreds of civilian type arms (not clear if they would be lighter caliber like squirrel rifles or heavier like .50 caliber Hawkins)
Some prewar companies were already armed with muskets, example a Louisiana company acquired 75 muskets from its prewar parent unit, (most prewar militia were divided so split into MSG and Home guard branches)
Some units captured arms on the way to WC, Scott O'Kane and the Warsaw Grays of the 4inf regt, 8th div surprised and captured a union militia at Cole Camp capturing 362 muskets, then another 150 from a german home guard in a neighboring county
Accounts vary as to what was acquired from the liberty arsenal, but from wiki----The Southern sympathizers captured three six-pounder brass cannons and carriages; 12 unmounted six-pounder iron guns; one three-pounder iron gun; two battery wagons; five caissons; two forges, artillery equipment and several hundred rounds of artillery ammunition (mostly solid shot and canister.) They also took 1,180 percussion muskets, 243 percussion rifles, 121 rifle carbines, 923 percussion pistols, 419 cavalry sabers, 39 cavalry swords, 20 cavalry and artillery musketoons, 400,000 cartridges, 1,000 pounds of cannon powder, 9,900 pounds of musket power, and 1,800 pounds of rifle powder.
At WC Pierce loans the MSG 600 flintlock mukets
More arms were captured at KC warehouse that were going to KS army units, but numbers isn't known. John McCorkle stated his Cav Company was armed at WC with burnside carbines taken from this warehouse.
So while the majority of the MSG may have not been regularly equipped with military arms, considering Lyon kept some reserves during most the fight on Bloody Hill limiting his firing lines to say 3000 or so, its not unreasonable to speculate in my opinion the MSG could and probally did bring to bear close to the same numbers of military firepower, offsetting the less well armed, which would account for the causalities remaining so even
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