1828 Government Document – Concerning Contract Muskets – SOLD

This is a printed page from the 20th Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives Government Documents, from January 28, 1828.  The subject matter is the petition of Bannister Stone, who is seeking to be relieved from judgement, having put up securities for a contractor of muskets, Adam Carruth.  Carruth contracted to deliver 10,000 stands of muskets of the 1816 type 1 pattern in 1815.

Adam Carruth was from Greenville, South Carolina, and had agreed to furnish 2000 stands of arms each year, after the initial delivery of 2000 by 1818. Financial problems plagued Carruth, and he was unable to deliver under the contract.   He suffered bankruptcy  and his property was auctioned in 1822. 781 muskets that had been made were sold to the state of South Carolina. It is believed that only 3,031 muskets total were produced.

As of 1820 only 2240 muskets were delivered to the Ordnance Department, and with Carruth’s problems, eventually the US awarded contracts to others to complete this failed number of musket.  It was determined that with these new contractors, the number originally contracted for was meet, and for much less money than first charged, so that the government figured that they had saved $9000.00 as a result of Carruth’s failure to complete.  Based on this reasoning, the petitioner, Bannister Stone was due his claim to be relieved by the Government, and his claim apparently was allowed.

Government documents such as this one are commonly broken from the large binding of of reports for the given years.  Many are mundane, and of little interest to most collectors, thus these volumes are split up. A nice piece of U.S. arms memorabilia.

Fine condition.