am sure not. Is there any more news of his condition?"
"Only that he is weakening and cannot breathe well. The doctors do not give him too much time."
"I am most sorry to hear that. Yet despite our casualties the war must go on. And General Ripley's most vital work must continue to be done. You have been aide to the general for some time?"
"I have."
"Then there is nothing I can tell you about the importance of the Bureau of Ordnance, nor how vital to our country it is?"
"Nothing, Mr. President. We both know that the war could not be fought without a constant flow of weaponry and ammunition. We are better supplied than the enemy at all times and that must never change if we are to have victory."
Lincoln nodded solemnly. "May it always be thus. Now I have been consulting with my Cabinet about this matter. Secretary of War Cameron speaks very highly of you. He feels you are ideally suited to head the Bureau of Ordnance. What do you think?"
"I know that I can do the work, sir. But before any appointment is approved I think you must know that General Ripley and I did not see eye-to-eye on a number of things. Most importantly we differed completely on at least one matter of some gravity. When I was his subordinate I was honor bound not to mention this. But I feel I must do so now. I do not speak in anger or envy. I feel that I was a good and loyal lieutenant to the general. While he was alive I never considered speaking aloud of our differences. But everything is changed now. If I am to occupy this position I must make the changes that I believe in."
"I admire your honesty in coming forward with this. What was this major bone of contention?"
For long seconds the officer looked discomfited. Looking first at the floor, then out of the window. Then he sat even more erect and sterned himself to speak.
"The general was a firm believer in the virtues of standard muzzle-loading rifles. They are proven and reliable and with proper training can deliver a good rate of fire."
"And you don't agree with this?"
"Of course I agree, Mr. President. But we live in an age of progress. I see new inventions almost every day. I believe in examining all these inventions—but more strongly I also believe in the virtues of breech-loading rifles. We have put numberless samples to the test and frankly most of them were useless. They jam and explode, break down very often and are difficult to maintain. But there are two breech-loaders that we have examined and fired at length, two remarkable weapons that stand out from all the others. The Spencer rifle and the Sharps. I wished to order a good quantity of them, but General Ripley disagreed strongly. Therefore nothing was done."
"Did he say why he disagreed?"
Ramsay hesitated to answer. When he did not speak Lincoln broke the silence. "I appreciate your loyalty to your superior officer. But by speaking honestly and frankly now you do him no harm—and you will be aiding the great effort that we are all so deeply involved in. If it helps I, as your Commander-in-Chief, can order you to tell me what you know."
Ramsay responded with great difficulty. "That will not be needed, sir. It was a matter of, well, opinion. The general felt that using breech-loaders would encourage the soldiers to waste ammunition. I do not think it a waste because the role of a soldier is to fire at the enemy."
"I agree, Ramsey, I do agree. You must arrange a demonstration of your wonderful rifles at the earliest opportunity. That will be your first order of business as our new Chief of Ordnance. Is there anything else that I should know about?"
"Well—it's Colonel Berdan and his regiment of sharpshooters. You have heard of him?"
"A memorandum in my desk somewhere. Didn't he use his own money to organize the regiment? With every man an expert shot."
"He did indeed. But here, again, and I do not blame General Ripley for having firmly held values. But Berdan's men have been lumbered with the Colt revolving rifle. The
"Only that he is weakening and cannot breathe well. The doctors do not give him too much time."
"I am most sorry to hear that. Yet despite our casualties the war must go on. And General Ripley's most vital work must continue to be done. You have been aide to the general for some time?"
"I have."
"Then there is nothing I can tell you about the importance of the Bureau of Ordnance, nor how vital to our country it is?"
"Nothing, Mr. President. We both know that the war could not be fought without a constant flow of weaponry and ammunition. We are better supplied than the enemy at all times and that must never change if we are to have victory."
Lincoln nodded solemnly. "May it always be thus. Now I have been consulting with my Cabinet about this matter. Secretary of War Cameron speaks very highly of you. He feels you are ideally suited to head the Bureau of Ordnance. What do you think?"
"I know that I can do the work, sir. But before any appointment is approved I think you must know that General Ripley and I did not see eye-to-eye on a number of things. Most importantly we differed completely on at least one matter of some gravity. When I was his subordinate I was honor bound not to mention this. But I feel I must do so now. I do not speak in anger or envy. I feel that I was a good and loyal lieutenant to the general. While he was alive I never considered speaking aloud of our differences. But everything is changed now. If I am to occupy this position I must make the changes that I believe in."
"I admire your honesty in coming forward with this. What was this major bone of contention?"
For long seconds the officer looked discomfited. Looking first at the floor, then out of the window. Then he sat even more erect and sterned himself to speak.
"The general was a firm believer in the virtues of standard muzzle-loading rifles. They are proven and reliable and with proper training can deliver a good rate of fire."
"And you don't agree with this?"
"Of course I agree, Mr. President. But we live in an age of progress. I see new inventions almost every day. I believe in examining all these inventions—but more strongly I also believe in the virtues of breech-loading rifles. We have put numberless samples to the test and frankly most of them were useless. They jam and explode, break down very often and are difficult to maintain. But there are two breech-loaders that we have examined and fired at length, two remarkable weapons that stand out from all the others. The Spencer rifle and the Sharps. I wished to order a good quantity of them, but General Ripley disagreed strongly. Therefore nothing was done."
"Did he say why he disagreed?"
Ramsay hesitated to answer. When he did not speak Lincoln broke the silence. "I appreciate your loyalty to your superior officer. But by speaking honestly and frankly now you do him no harm—and you will be aiding the great effort that we are all so deeply involved in. If it helps I, as your Commander-in-Chief, can order you to tell me what you know."
Ramsay responded with great difficulty. "That will not be needed, sir. It was a matter of, well, opinion. The general felt that using breech-loaders would encourage the soldiers to waste ammunition. I do not think it a waste because the role of a soldier is to fire at the enemy."
"I agree, Ramsey, I do agree. You must arrange a demonstration of your wonderful rifles at the earliest opportunity. That will be your first order of business as our new Chief of Ordnance. Is there anything else that I should know about?"
"Well—it's Colonel Berdan and his regiment of sharpshooters. You have heard of him?"
"A memorandum in my desk somewhere. Didn't he use his own money to organize the regiment? With every man an expert shot."
"He did indeed. But here, again, and I do not blame General Ripley for having firmly held values. But Berdan's men have been lumbered with the Colt revolving rifle. The
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