Blue and Gray Marching

      Four times per year, every regiment in the Confederate Army was required to fill out a return of ordnance supplies on hand. Each quarterly return showed the number of items carried over from the previous quarter, all items received or expended during the quarter, and the resulting total on hand at the close of the quarter. The returns are a unique resource, allowing us to see the precise equipment of a regiment on a specific date.

       Reports like these are further testimony to the fact that even in the middle and later part of the war, there were significant differences in the equipage of different units. Just as quartermaster records make clear that variations in uniform persisted, so too the ordnance records give evidence of variation in arms and equipment.

       Because the returns were intended purely to keep track of Ordnance Department property in the hands of soldiers, and not to show equipment required (that's what inspections were for), the number of men in the regiment is not provided. However, a close idea of the strength of the regiment can be surmised from the number of weapons and sets of accoutrements on hand. 

       Below is a selection of six of the returns I have located. Three are from the Army of Tennessee, and three from the Army of Northern Virginia.

Army of Tennessee

52nd Georgia Infantry

Stovall’s Brigade, Stewart’s Division

 

              On hand            Rec’d from           Worn out          Lost/charged              Lost                  On hand

                                       3/31/64           Brigade Ord.         in service               to men                 in battle                6/30/64

We see here the effects of the Atlanta Campaign on the 52nd Georgia during the 2nd quarter of 1864. They are armed entirely with the Austrian Lorenz, and unlike many units they are fully bayonet equipped, at least at the start of the period. There appears to be some shortage of canteens throughout the quarter. All cartridge boxes are on slings.

10th Tennessee Infantry

Bate’s Brigade, Stewart’s Division

              On hand            Rec’d from           Picked up         Lost/charged       Turned over           On hand

                                       9/30/63           Brigade Ord.                                          to men                  to Ord.                 12/31/63

Here we see a badly under-strength 10th Tennessee. The 9/30/63 numbers show the state of the regiment less than two weeks after it was severely mauled at Chickamauga. The variety of weapons in use would be very odd for an eastern regiment at this point in the war. Note the nearly total absence of bayonets at the start of the quarter, and the abundance of them at the end. 

10th Mississippi Infantry

Anderson’s Brigade, Hindman’s Division

              On hand            Rec’d from           Picked up         Lost/charged              Lost                   On hand

                                       9/30/63           Brigade Ord.                                          to men            in battle 11/25         12/31/63

The ordnance return of the 10th Miss shows the loss of equipment at Missionary Ridge on November 25th. The deficiency in haversacks at the start of the quarter is somewhat unusual. There are at least 70 men without on 9/30. Were they lost at Chickamauga? And somehow the regiment lost far more haversacks at Missionary Ridge than any other item. At the start of the quarter about one-half of the men have bayonets. By the end of the year, only around a third do.

Army of Northern Virginia

49th Virginia Infantry

Smiths’s Brigade, Early’s Division

                       On hand     Rec’d from     Brought by     Picked up   Turned over   Lost/charged      Worn        On hand

                                 9/30/63   Brigade Ord.  returning men                      to Ordnance       to men               out         12/31/63

The regiment claims no musket slings on hand at all on 9/30, before generous issues during the quarter leave the regiment more than half equipped. The regiment also begins the quarter with only 67 knapsacks, but by years end the deficiency is remedied completely by heavy issues of that item.

2nd South Carolina Infantry

Kershaw’s Brigade, McLaws’ Division

             On hand            Rec’d from         Turned over         Worn out &                Lost                   On hand

                                       9/30/63           Brigade Ord.        to Ord. Off.          condemned            in battle               12/31/63    

The first column of this return of the 2nd SC shows the regiment shortly after heavy losses at Chickamauga. Additional men and equipment were lost at Knoxville during this quarter. Note the heavy deficiency of bayonets and cartridge box slings at both beginning and end of the quarter. Unlike most regiments, this one clearly has the great majority of its cartridge boxes worn on the waist belt. Also of interest is the lack of change in the number of knapsacks, which well under half the men possess. The only explanation for the number being completely unaffected is that the 86 knapsacks are not with the regiment.

23rd North Carolina Infantry

Iverson’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division

  

              On hand            Rec’d from          Picked up           Turned over               Lost                   On hand

                                       6/30/63           Brigade Ord.                                      to Ordnance            in battle                9/30/63

The 6/30/63 column shows the state of the regiment the day before it marched down Oak Hill to its doom outside Gettysburg. The "Lost in battle" column is testament to their loss. The just over 300 enlisted men of the regiment were well equipped at Gettysburg, except for a deficiency of around 70 bayonets and 50 knapsacks. Records hint that Iverson's Brigade seems to have been particularly stringent about holding men accountable for lost equipment during this period. The 20th NC actually convened a board of officers on June 29th, while at Carlisle, Pa on the eve of battle, to investigate the loss of several dozen knapsacks on the march north. If the men of the 23rd behaved similarly, they must have started from Virginia more or less fully equipped with that item.

Sources:

(52nd Ga)

Rufus R. Asbury; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia (National Archives Microfilm Publication M266, roll 516); Record Group 109.

(10th TN)

William Grace; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee (National Archives Microfilm Publication M268, roll 157) Record Group 109.

(10th MS)

James Barr; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Mississippi (National Archives Microfilm Publication M269, roll 184) Record Group 109.

(49th VA)

J. Catlett Gibson; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia (National Archives Microfilm Publication M324, roll 918) Record Group 109.

(2nd SC)

William Wallace; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina (National Archives Microfilm Publication M267, roll 160) Record Group 109.

(23rd NC)

Abner D. Peace; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina (National Archives Microfilm Publication M270, roll 299); Record Group 109

For the 20th NC investigation of lost knapsacks and other equipment:

Lewis T. Hicks; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina (National Archives Microfilm Publication M270, roll 272); Record Group 109