Publisher's Synopsis
The Report of the Secretary of War on 10 June 1848 showed that on 30 June 1847 the United States possessed 707, 011 small arms, of which 586, 513 had been made at the Harper's Ferry and Springfield national armories; 118, 113 had been made by private armories and contractors; and only 2365 had been imported. All foreign made arms were classified as fourth-class arms, but within just twenty years, were to become more important than at any time since the First War for Independence.
