Encyclopedia · Arsenals, armories, foundries, and institutions

Springfield Armory

The Springfield Armory in Massachusetts was the principal national armory of the United States, the chief maker of its shoulder arms, and a center of ordnance manufacture during the Civil War.

Also known as: Springfield Armory.

LocationSpringfield, Massachusetts
RoleNational armory; principal maker of United States shoulder arms
WartimeVastly expanded production during the Civil War
CommandersOrdnance officers including Dyer and Benton

The national armory

The Springfield Armory was the foremost of the two national armories of the United States and the chief source of its regulation shoulder arms. During the Civil War it expanded enormously to meet the demand of the Federal armies, producing rifle-muskets in great numbers.

Commanded during the era by ordnance officers such as Alexander B. Dyer and James G. Benton, Springfield was a center of American arms manufacture and a mainstay of Federal ordnance.

On this site

Sources & further reading

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