Did you know that the only armory in the South not destroyed was at Tallassee, Alabama? Here is what happened. Toward the end of the war, the Richmond carbine factory moved from Richmond to an old Tallassee cotton mill which began manufacturing carbines.
These were designed for use on horseback so they were shorter than the old type guns. Unfortunately, the war ended before their goal of manufacturing 6000 carbines was reached. One carload was shipped, but intercepted by the Yankees and most of the guns were destroyed.
About a dozen guns survived (most of them went home with the northerners as souvenirs) and they are an extremely valuable collector's items today - Antique Roadshow, here we come!!!.
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