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Collection Reference Number GLC00508.04
From Archive Folder Paul J. Semmes archive regarding buying arms and military equipment 
Title Contract with Robert P. Parrott for rifles, projectiles & lead
Date 22 December 1860
Author Semmes, Paul Jones (1815-1863)  
Document Type Correspondence
Content Description Semmes's retained copy. Contract with Parrott of the Cold Springs Foundry in West Point, New York for 16 rifle cannons, 3500 "Dyer" solid shot, 4000 "Dyer" case or shrapnel shot, 500 canister shot, and 100,000 pounds of lead. Lists the specifications for each of these items and the price. Instructs that the advice of Captain A.B. Dyer (of the U.S. Ordnance Dept.) should be followed when manufacturing the ammunitions. Should be noted that a U.S. government official's advice was taken on manufacturing arms that would ultimately be used by the Confederacy against the United States. The original of this copy was signed by Semmes and Parrott, witnessed by W. J. Hardee, a future Confederate lt. general. Written from the 5th Avenue Hotel in New York.
Subjects Military History  Ammunition  Civil War  Confederate General or Leader  Confederate States of America  West Point (US Military Academy)  Industry  Contract  Artillery  
People Semmes, Paul Jones (1815-1863)  Parrott, R. P. (Robert Parker) (1804-1877)  Dyer, Alexander Brydie (1815-1874)  
Place written New York, New York
Theme The American Civil War; Industry
Sub-collection Papers and Images of the American Civil War
Additional Information New York City was a center for arms deals by Southern states in preparation for secession. Semmes was a Georgia banker and plantation owner who served as agent for the State of Georgia during the preparations for the Civil War. He served as colonel of the 2nd Georgia in the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the war and was promoted to brigadier general in March 1862. He was assigned to a brigade in McLaws' division of Longstreet's corps fighting in Crampton's Gap, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded.
Copyright The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Module Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
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