by Robert Garlick Hill Kean and Josiah Gorgas

“ A further purchase of at least 50,000 will be necessary for the coming year, unless the operations of the armories can be placed on a permanent footing by declaring all skilled mechanics engaged on them absolutely exempt from military duty, attaching them permanently to the Ordnance Department, and encouraging in every way the growth of this class of workmen. ”

“ Mechanics, Miners, Artizans, &c.—While the army has been well supplied during the past year, there are causes operating which will render future results less satisfactory. The chief of these is the diminution of skilled workmen. Without statistics I can only assure you that the number and quality of workmen have greatly fallen off since the middle of the year 1863. While two years ago it was difficult to get machinery, we have now a surplus, and cannot get workmen to run it. ”

“ The quantity of small arms ammunition in the hands of the troops in the field is about eighty to ninety rounds to the man. The most obstinate and protracted battles, such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg exhibit an expenditure of about twenty-five rounds per man for the former battle and about thirty rounds per man for the latter. The quantity of small arms ammunition on hand at the several arsenals and depots shows an aggregate of 5,376,034 small arm cartridges on the 12th November. ”

“ For our cavalry arms we have chiefly to rely on importations, although pistols are being made at several points with success. Want of workmen alone prevents additional results.
Sabres can be produced in sufficient numbers and of pretty good quality by the detail of a very few workmen from the field.
2d. As to powder— The manufacturing capacity at the disposal of the Bureau is ample for all purposes, viz:
There is besides a private mill at Charlotte, North Carolina, and an excellent mill belonging to the Navy Department at Columbia, South Carolina. ”

“ This will leave the working force at the arsenals less by about 342 men than on the 1st of October, but will suffice. In addition, in order to raise the product of our armories in time to 55,000 arms per annum, 800 good mechanics must be added—say that three-fourths of them will be white men, between the ages of 18 and 45, and the total required thus will be—
This would give us a total of 258 more workmen than we had October 1, 1864, but would raise the product of arms from 20,000 to 55,000 (in time) . The number of negroes on the rolls of the department during the past year is 830 ”