Crises cause us to act. The crisis created by the United States' military unpreparedness during the War of 1812 resulted in the planning and building of additional arsenals for the nation's defense. Congress appropriated monies in 1836 for an "arsenal of deposite and general construction" (manufacture of arms) in Fayetteville. Many workshops and buildings were completed in the initial phase of construction (1839-1842); however, the town's inability to attract a railroad line enabling arms to be easily shipped resulted in reassessment of the facility. The army demoted the arsenal to one of only deposit. Political pressure from southern politicians resulted in a second period of arsenal construction between 1846 and 1853. Although structurally complete, the arsenal lacked the machinery necessary for the construction of arms.

The outbreak of the American Civil War resulted in the arsenal being surrendered to North Carolina and turned over to the Confederacy. The facility was quickly manufacturing ammunition, repairing rifles, and modernizing muskets. The fall of the Harper's Ferry Arsenal and Armory to Virginia troops resulted in some of its gun-making machinery and many of its artisans being moved to Fayetteville. The Confederate government expanded the arsenal and soon produced the Fayetteville rifle. Scarcity of raw materials during the war limited the arsenal's production to 10,000 rifles. The facility's greatest contribution to the Confederate war effort was the production of millions of rounds of ammunition. The Fayetteville Arsenal was destroyed by United States troops in March of 1865.

In 1874 the U.S. government sold the property. Prior to this, townspeople salvaged brick and other usable materials from the site. The area became residential by the 1890s and remained so until the late 1960s when plans were made to construct a highway through the neighborhood. The destruction of this historic site raised public concern that resulted in an archaeological exploration and saving of the main compound's western wall.

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Show me all markers in:  Fayetteville, NC  |  Cumberland County  |  28305  |  North Carolina  |  United States of America

Arsenal Stones
North Carolina Arsenal
1897 Poe House
Arsenal
The "Ghost" Tower
Forging and Casting [and] Smith's Shops (1839 - 1842)
Fayetteville Arsenal
North Carolina
Engine House (1838 - 1848)
Gun Carriage and Turning Shop (1842 - 1849)

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