Harpers Ferry Armory: Difference between revisions

|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/hafe/armory_clr.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|185}}

In 1794, the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed a [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]] calling "''for the erecting and repairing of Arsenals and Magazines''". President [[George Washington]], given wide latitude in carrying out this order, selected Harpers Ferry, then a part of [[Virginia]], for the location of the Harpers Ferry National Armory.<ref name="nps1">{{cite web |title=Harpers Ferry Armory and Arsenal |url=httphttps://www.nps.gov/archive/hafe/learn/historyculture/harpers-ferry-armory-and-arsenal.htm |title=Harpers Ferry NHP Armory and Arsenal |publisher=Harpers Ferry National Historical Park |first=Marsha |last=Wassel |date=June 2, 2005 |accessurl-datestatus=November 12, 2008 |archive-date=November 8, 2008live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2008110816012420240315041124/httphttps://www.nps.gov/archive/hafe/learn/historyculture/harpers-ferry-armory-and-arsenal.htm |urlarchive-statusdate=liveMarch 15, 2024 |access-date=14 March 2024 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |website=Harpers Ferry National Historical Park }}</ref> George Washington believed that an inland location would be more defensible against foreign military attack. However, his friends had an interest in the [[Potomac Company]], which influenced his decision to locate the armory.<ref>Simon, R. D. (2010). "The Machine in Context: Merritt Roe Smith’s Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology: The Challenge of Change [Review of Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology: The Challenge of Change, by M. R. Smith]". ''Technology and Culture'', 51(4), 1010–1017. http://www.{{jstor|40928038}}.org/stable/40928038</ref> In 1796, the United States government purchased a {{convert|125|acre|km2|adj=on}} parcel of land from the heirs of Robert Harper. Subsequently, in 1799, construction began on the national armory. Three years later, mass production of military arms commenced.<ref name="nps1"/>

}}</ref> The South had virtually no small-arms production and an inadequate supply of raw materials. The machinery taken from Harpers Ferry became the foundation of the Confederate arms manufacturing.{{cn|date=September 2023}} Two weeks later, the Confederates abandoned Harpers Ferry, while also confiscating what was left in the Armory and burning the rest of the remaining buildings.<ref name=":1nps1"/>{{Cite webThey also blew up the railroad bridge of the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], but returned in two weeks to destroy the Rifle Works and a bridge that crossed the Shenandoah river.<ref name=":0" />

Due to the degree of damage to the armory during the Civil War, the U.S. government decided not to re-establish the armory at Harpers Ferry, instead focusing the quickly developing areas west of the Mississippi River.<ref name{{cn|date=":1"September />2023}}

{{commons|Harpers Ferry Armory}}

[[Category:FirearmDefunct firearms manufacturers of the United States]]