A Pre-War Arms Deal at Harpers Ferry: The George Koonce Letter, January 25, 1861

A Pre-War Arms Deal at Harpers Ferry: The George Koonce Letter, January 25, 1861
This 1½-page autograph letter signed, written in ink on laid paper, dates to a critical moment in the lead-up to the American Civil War. Penned by George Koonce of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), on January 25, 1861—less than three months before the firing on Fort Sumter—the letter responds to an inquiry from Mr. George Thomas Hays (likely of Harford County, Maryland) regarding the availability of Hall’s Rifles for a proposed volunteer militia company.
 
In the letter, Koonce, serving as town Constable, reveals his dual role as a local law officer and a pragmatic businessman deeply involved in the arms trade. He reports having approximately 600 Hall’s Rifles on a list for collection on behalf of the U.S. Government. The government permitted private owners to repurchase their own weapons for $2.00 each, a privilege many exercised. Koonce notes that these rifles could likely be acquired from local holders for $4.00 apiece, with bullet molds and screwdrivers available for an additional $1.00 (totaling $5.00). He suggests that Hays’ proposed company might need to offer $8.00 to $10.00 per rifle to secure them, citing that South Carolinians were already paying the higher price. Koonce offers practical assistance: if Hays raises his company and determines a viable price, Koonce will help procure up to 75 rifles.
 
This document illuminates the fluid and semi-private nature of arms procurement in the tense winter of 1861. Harpers Ferry, home to the federal armory and arsenal, was a strategic flashpoint. Just over a year earlier, in October 1859, John Brown’s raid had shaken the nation and prompted the permanent stationing of 42 U.S. regular soldiers at the site for protection.
 
Koonce’s letter captures the entrepreneurial spirit of the era even as sectional tensions escalated. Within weeks of this correspondence, the Confederacy would form, and by April 1861, events moved rapidly. After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, forces under Colonel Turner Ashby advanced on Harpers Ferry. Koonce gathered citizen volunteers to resist the advance, but U.S. troops burned the armory and arsenal before withdrawing northward, leaving Koonce’s small force to face the Confederates alone. They escaped under cover of darkness. Koonce did not return to Harpers Ferry until Union forces retook the town approximately two months later.
Although much of the armory’s inventory was destroyed by fire, the Confederates successfully salvaged and transported key machinery south to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where it was used to establish a Confederate armory. Koonce’s letter thus stands as a rare surviving artifact from the precarious weeks when private initiative, local knowledge, and militia organizing foreshadowed the massive arms race that would define the coming conflict.
 
Transcription
Harpers Ferry January 25th 1861
Dear Sir,
In reply of your letter of the 17th inst. I would state that at the present time I am not able to inform you whether any quantity of Hall's Rifles could be obtained or not. I have about 600 on a list to collect for the U.S. Government. The Government allowing those who have them the privilege of purchasing them at $2 a piece, which privilege many avail themselves of. Possible they could be purchased of those who have them here at $4.00 a piece. Bullet molds could be purchased with screwdrivers for $1.00 making $5.00. The company you propose to raise should pay $8, $9, or $10, how much they be willing to pay. South Carolinians have been paying $10 for them. If you raise your company, ascertain what they will pay for Hall's Rifles, molds, and if it will pay you, come up here and I will assist you in getting the number you want. I think 75 might be obtained.
With much respect, George Koonce