Online Store
Show Your Support of NDU!
Can't find what you are looking for? Many more items available in our Ft. McNair store...
Contact us directly at millern@nduf.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NDU Deluxe Lapel Pin
Extra Large Faceplate
$10
|
|
|
NDU Challenge Coin
$12
|
|
|
Children's T-Shirt
(Children's Large size only (18.5in from shoulder to shoulder; 24.5in from collar to seam)
$14.00
|
|
|
Adult T-Shirt
Available S, M, L, XL - Grey only
|
 |
|
"Testing the Tools of War"
Stivers Print; Signed and Numbered
25"W x 17 3/4"H
$150.00
The location depicted in this
painting is the southern most
point of Fort Leslie J. McNair,
home of the National Defense
University.
Testing the Tools of War BY DON STIVERS
At the onset of the American Civil War, many American inventors turned their talents to improving the tools of war. The inventor in search of a government contract had to contend with the bureaucracy of the Army Ordnance Department, Navy Ordnance Bureau, generals and politicians. However, there was one man inventors turned to in the U.S. Government who had both the will and power to push the development of new weapons – President Lincoln.
Living on the periphery of the machine age, President Lincoln was keenly aware of the technological advances that were taking place around him. The car came and he turned his mechanical bent to the improvement of the tools of war. He saw many weapons trials, most held at his insistence. Many ordinance bureau personnel regarded these trials with annoyance, and contempt, feeling that they were rigged to impress the president. They nicknamed the President's experiments and trials as the “ Champaign ” experiments. Many of these experiments took place at the Washington Arsenal, which is known today as Fort McNair , home of the National Defense University.
In June 1861, a New York politician by the name of Simeon Draper badgered General Ripley, Chief of Army Ordnance, into a test firing of the Union Repeating Gun – a single rifle barrel with an ingenious breech mechanism that held .58 caliber paper cartridges. President Lincoln had seen the new weapon previously and nicknamed the device the “Coffee Mill Gun” because of the hopper on the weapon. President Lincoln, the governor of Connecticut , three cabinet members, and five generals witnessed the test firing at Washington Arsenal and all were impressed.
December 19, 1861 , President Lincoln gave the order to purchase fifty of the “Coffee Mill Guns” at a cost of $735 each. The end of 1861 brought the first U.S. machine gun into the U.S. Army's tool of war. From these humble beginnings, the machine gun is recognized as one of the few tools of war that revolutionized warfare. President Lincoln's vision in recognizing the promise of this emerging weapon led to a new age of warfare.