Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War

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Excerpt from Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance, to the Secretary of War: For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1879 I have estimated for the next fiscal year for sums which I consider should be granted to enable me to properly preserve and protect the large public property under the control of the department. By a reference to the report of the operations carried on at the Bock Island Arsenal it will be seen that the construction of the new buildings has progressed in a satisfactory manner, and with the aid of the new appropriations asked for, the workshops will soon be in a condition to receive their machinery and commence manufacturing to meet the future wants of the country. The ordnance depots have met the expectations of this office, and have proven to be of great convenience in speedily supplying the troops serving in the field against the hostile Indians. Ample supplies have been collected and placed under the immediate control of the military commanders interested, and by them have been distributed to their commands as occasion has demanded. An officer of the department is now engaged in examining the various sites offered for the establishment of the new powder depot on the Atlantic coast, and it is presumed that he will soon be able to recommend a suitable location, when steps will be taken to secure sufficient laud for the erection of the proper magazines and other buildings for the storage and handling of powder. I beg to ask the especial attention of the Secretary of War to my estimate for continuing the boring of the artesian well at the Benicia Arsenal to a depth sufficient to determine whether a good supply of palatable water can be procured. The well has now reached a depth of 1, 407 feet, and it is thought proper to carry it down 600 feet more. A perusal of the interesting report of the commanding officer of that arsenal (Appendix L) will show what difficulties have been encountered and overcome so far, and what may be expected in the future progress of the work. The many artesian wells on the Pacific coast have been of a depth only sufficient to reach surface water, which is neither constant in quantity nor sufficient in supply. Whether at a depth such as has been reached in other quarters of the globe a full, constant supply can be obtained, is a matter that deeply concerns the manufacturing and agricultural interests of the Pacific coast, and I trust that it will be deemed of sufficient importance to strongly recommend to Congress the desirability of a proper appropriation to demonstrate its success or failure. A recent official visit to the Benicia Arsenal has impressed me most forcibly with the wants of that national establishment, and the pressing necessity of enlarging and perfecting its manufacturing and storing facilities. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.