United States federal armory (historical)

E55053

The United States federal armory at Harpers Ferry was a major early American weapons manufacturing and storage facility, historically significant as the target of John Brown’s 1859 raid and a key site in the lead-up to the Civil War.


Statements (52)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal armory
historical site
weapons manufacturing facility
associatedWith American abolitionist movement
United States military history
industrial history of the United States
attackedBy John Brown
John Brown’s abolitionist followers
attackedIn October 1859
authorizedBy President George Washington
capturedBy U.S. Marines under Robert E. Lee (1859)
commemoratedBy Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
constructionBegan 1796
country United States
currentStatus ruins and foundations within Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
destroyedBy Union forces to prevent Confederate capture (1861)
destroyedDuring American Civil War
disestablished 1861
employed gunsmiths
laborers
skilled machinists
establishedBy United States Congress
heritageDesignation part of a U.S. National Historical Park
historicalSignificance early center of American industrialization
key site in development of interchangeable parts
major federal weapons depot before the American Civil War
laterDestroyedBy Confederate forces removing machinery and burning buildings
locatedIn Harpers Ferry
Virginia (historical)
West Virginia (modern)
locatedOn confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers
machineryRelocatedTo Confederate armory at Richmond, Virginia
notableProduct Harpers Ferry Model 1803 rifle
Harpers Ferry Model 1855 rifle-musket
opened 1799
operatedBy United States War Department
ownedBy United States federal government
partOf United States federal armory system
peakEmploymentApprox 400 to 500 workers
primaryFunction manufacture of small arms for the U.S. military
storage of federal weapons and munitions
produced experimental firearms
muskets
rifled muskets
rifles
raidObjective seizure of federal weapons to arm enslaved people
raidOutcome failure of John Brown’s insurrection
roleIn events leading up to the American Civil War
sisterFacility Springfield Armory
siteOf John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
usedTechnology interchangeable parts manufacturing system
water-powered machinery

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia ("United States arsenal (historical)")
siteOf
United States federal armory at Harpers Ferry ("United States federal armory system")
partOf

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