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ANDREW D. KING, SUB INSPECTOR, NATIONAL ARMORY,
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS – HIS PERSONAL 1861 WORK
DIARY – RECORDS OF INSPECTIONS OF COLTS, BURNSIDES, AMES
SABRES – VERY RARE ORDNANCE INSPECTOR WORK HISTORY:
Quite possibly the only one of its kind in private
ownership, this is the 1861 Work Diary maintained
throughout the year by Andrew D. King, Sub Inspector, at
the National Armory, Springfield, Massachusetts.
Discovered several years ago in a Vermont estate, this
pocket sized diary records King’s daily inspections of
arms, his out of pocket expenses, and his inspection
trips from Springfield to various manufacturers such as
Colt in Hartford, Burnside in Providence, and Ames and
Gaylord in Chicopee.
One of the more famous Sub Inspectors, King was employed
by the Ordnance Department from 1850 to 1865, and was in
daily contact with several of the better known
personalities employed by the US Army Ordnance
Department before and during the Civil War. In the
daily entries King made in his diary, he regularly
refers to these men in the context of travel,
correspondence, and inspection assignments.
Interestingly, he identifies them by the same format of
initials which were applied via the inspector cartouche
stamps to the firearms, sabres and swords these men
inspected. The following inspectors initials appear in
the text of his notations: “A.D.K.” – Andrew D. King (he
referred to himself in the third person); “G.G.S” - G.
G. Saunders, Sub Inspector, US Armory; “J.H.” - most
probably Joseph Hannis, Sub Inspector, US Armory; “R.H.K.W.”
- Robert Henry Kirkwood Whitely, Captain of Ordnance,
US Army; and “W.A.T.” – William A. Thornton, Captain of
Ordnance, US Army.
The diary, measuring 6” high and 4” wide, is bound in
brown leatherette covers with the title and date,
“DIARY. 1861.” embossed in gold foil on the front cover
closing flap. King’s
full name, title, and address are written in ink,
presumably in King’s own hand, on the inside of the
front cover.
The diary content varies according to King’s activities
on any given day. There are notations “Inspections
Closed” and “Inspection Reports”, indicating completed
assignments and I’m assuming the filing of his report.
King was conscientious in recording his specific
inspection assignments. A few excerpts from the diary
are provided here as a small sampling of the type of
notations King recorded:
Feb 11: “Commenced 3 Inspections of 314 Burnside
Carbines”
May 20: “307cylinders proved by Taylor” and “344
pistols to s______”
May 23: “Chicopee Delivered accoutrements 500”
July 27: “Inspection of 500 pistols closed. ADK GGS”
July 29: “Inspection commenced of 500 pistols
holster pattern”
Aug19: “Commenced ins accoutrements and swords at
Chicopee”
Sept 9: “Ins swords 1 day”
Oct 1: “ADK on accoutrements, GGS JH on swords”
Oct 14: “ADK, GGS, JH, on accoutrements cav
accoutrements four days, delivered 10 boxes cav swords
300, 3 boxes Non Com Off 108”
Oct 21: “Delivered Cavalry Sabres 300, Delivered
Non Com Officers swords 108, Delivered Musicians swords
50”
Nov 22: “Reports 1000 cavalry; 1000 Non Com Belts;
600 Artillery; Not reported 1000 cap pouches”
According to his notations of expenses for railroad
tickets and board, King did a considerable amount of
traveling to Hartford, Springfield, Chicopee and
Providence – all locations where the various arms were
being manufactured. The meticulous nature of his
personality is evidenced by his notations of such small
expenses as a postage stamp and to whom in the Ordnance
Department the letter or report was sent. In addition
to the expenses obviously incurred in the course of his
official duties, there are also notations of his
personal expenses such as “Cash to Wife 7.50” and
various household and personal expenses. Towards the
back of the book there are pages for “Cash Account” and
“Bills Payable” for each month. His notations for cash
received were limited to January, but the payments from
the US Government are recorded, providing insight to the
amount of his salary.
Through a genealogy researcher, and various descendants
of Andrew D. King she was able to locate, some
historical information on King and his family was
compiled, and copies of photographs of one of his wives
and one of his grandsons were obtained, all of which is
included with this diary. I was never able to locate a
photograph of King – odd in so much as there are several
notations in this diary reflecting payments he made for
photographs – presumably images of his family members.
From what I was able to determine, no image of King has
survived in either public holdings or in the family
owned archives.
In addition to the genealogical information assembled on
King, I prepared and have included a two page summary of
the diary which serves to highlight the significant
entries by date and provide a guide to other interesting
features of the diary. Hopefully this summary will be
of some worth to the eventual new owner.
While the diary lacks any earth shattering revelations,
it is a significant record of the work of one of the
primary sub-inspectors at Springfield Armory during the
first year of the Civil War. This diary is certainly a
unique historical artifact insofar as there are very
few, if any, such records in private hands and available
to collectors. This diary would be a prime addition to
any collection of Springfield Armory arms and material,
or Ordnance Department artifacts. (0202) $2500
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