Chapter 586: Arsenal in the South

Chapter 579 Arsenal in the South

Thanks to the technology and production lines transferred from the Sacramento Arsenal, as well as orders from southern states, the Austin Arsenal has been doing particularly well since its inception.

The Austin Arsenal has never had a headache about orders, but the production problem has always troubled the Austin Arsenal.

Even though the Sacramento Arsenal supported a group of skilled workers from the Austin Arsenal and transferred three production lines, the output of the Austin Arsenal still could not meet the huge demand in the South.

Although by June 1859, with the joint efforts of California and Texas, the Austin Arsenal was able to produce 70 Walter M1851 rifles of various types and 20 Colt revolvers per day.

In terms of artillery, the Austin Arsenal can also produce 20 Napoleon cannons of different calibers per month. Of course, if it is a rifled Napoleon cannon, the output will be lower.

Unlike the Sacramento Arsenal, in the early days, the Sacramento Arsenal had only one stable buyer, the Western Brigade. Among the three major departments of the Sacramento Arsenal, only the pistol department was profitable. The other two departments, the rifle production department and the cannon production department, were in a state of loss for a long time before the Crimean War.

The Austin Arsenal did not have this problem. All the weapons produced by the Austin Arsenal were verified in actual combat, and even the French army praised them highly. They were weapons with a good reputation. In addition, the entire South had a huge demand for arms, so the Austin Arsenal almost never experienced a loss stage.

"Austin's Arsenal is one of the few arsenals in the entire South that can be compared with traditional arsenals in the North." Bell, the former governor of Texas, one of the largest shareholders of the Austin Arsenal, and Liang Yao's father-in-law, took a Walter M1851 rifle from the accompanying black servant and said very confidently.

The three regular infantry regiments of the Western Brigade retired the Walter M1851 rifle, which does not mean that the performance of the Walter M181 rifle is outdated.

On the contrary, compared with the rifles equipped by various countries at the same time, the Walter M1851 rifle, even the export model M1851E rifle, has a relatively leading performance.

As for why the Western Brigade retired a reliable weapon that was still at the leading level and had been tested in actual combat, it was because the Western Brigade had better choices.

The 19th century was a century when mankind officially entered the industrial age, and science and technology were changing with each passing day and progressing rapidly. Especially in the military field, it only takes a dozen or twenty years for a weapon to go from advanced to outdated.

"This gun is so beautiful." Former Texas Senator and current Texas Governor Ron also praised this gun.

Ron was very glad that at the critical moment of California's establishment, he supported California on behalf of Texas and established a deep friendship with California.

Now it seems that this decision is the wisest decision he has made since he entered politics. Being friendly with California has brought Texas not only the original $10 million compensation, but also real long-term benefits.

If the three states on the west coast had not given priority to purchasing raw materials from Texas, the lives of Texans would not be much better than those in other southern states.

The Austin Arsenal, which the California consortium helped them build, has now become a business card for Texas.

Looking back to the beginning of California's establishment nine years ago, California was still a frontier state with a population of less than 200,000, and Texas was just a frontier state with a population of only 100,000. Both states were still very weak and had no say in Congress.

Now California is a state with a population of more than 2.7 million, and Texas is also a state with a population of around 700,000 if slaves are counted.

California is currently the object of the North's ardent pursuit, while Texas is currently the object of the South's ardent pursuit.

Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but sigh.

"It's really beautiful." Liang Yao took the Austin-made Walter M1851 rifle in his hand and played with it for a while.

Since the Austin Arsenal used the production line directly transferred from the Sacramento Arsenal, the Walter M1851 rifle made by Austin and the Walter M1851 rifle made by the Sacramento Arsenal were almost identical.

The only difference was that the inscription on the bolt of the Walter M1851 rifle made by Austin was Made in Texas, while the inscription on the bolt of the gun made by the Sacramento Arsenal was Made in California.

Liang Yao was generally satisfied with the Austin Arsenal, but the only drawback was that the output was still a bit low.

Historically, the South did not have any military industry, nor could it produce a single gun or a single cannon. The South still had a certain number of military industries, and the South without any military industry could not have fought the North for four years with the passion of the slave owners.

It was just that the production capacity of the South's military industry was not enough compared to the North. The lost weapons were more difficult to be replenished in time than those in the North, and the poor logistics supply greatly affected the combat effectiveness of the Southern Army. There are only two regular arsenals in the entire South that can manufacture artillery, and the output is not very optimistic.

Another fatal point is that the only military industry of scale in the South is mostly distributed in Virginia, the main battlefield bordering the North.

Compared to Virginia, Texas is much safer. As long as the main coastal ports can be defended, there is no need to worry about the Northern Army threatening Texas' industrial hinterland in the early stages of the war.

"Walter rifles are inexpensive and of good quality. The Texas Regiment, the three militia regiments in the state, and the Chinese Regiment have all been fully equipped with Walter rifles." Bell, who is in charge of military affairs in Texas, introduced to Liang Yao with great enthusiasm.

The Texas armed forces, which have fully completed the replacement of weapons and equipment, have a brand new look.

The equipment of the regular army, militia, and Chinese regiment in Texas is only inferior to that of the Western armed forces equipped with General Liang's rifles.

Of course, these are only infantry armed forces. In addition to four infantry regiments, Texas' paramilitary armed forces also have a regiment of cavalry and six companies of field artillery.

The fact that one state can support so many paramilitary armed forces shows how abundant the local finances of Texas are.

It can also be seen how comfortable Texas has been living with California in recent years.

After visiting the Austin Arsenal, Liang Yao, accompanied by local military and political officials in Texas, reviewed the army stationed in the capital Austin: the Texas Regiment.

The Texas Regiment was the only standing regiment in Texas before the war, and it was also the most elite armed force in Texas, the predecessor of the famous Texas Brigade.

The only standing regiment was stationed near Austin, which shows how much the Texas high-level officials valued the Austin Arsenal.

Unlike the Texas Brigade in history, which wore straw hats, loose shirts, straw sandals, and was equipped with old-fashioned M1816 flintlock muskets, and even the infantry equipment could not be unified.

Although the Texas Brigade at this time still liked to wear loose shirts and cool cowhide sandals in the hot summer, the hats on their heads were replaced with military cowboy hats made of felt, which were waterproof and sun-shading. The rifles they were equipped with were advanced Walter M1851 breech-loading rifles.

In terms of carrying equipment, the canvas satchels, tin kettles, cowhide ammunition boxes, bayonets, hunting knives, and blankets equipped by the soldiers of the Texas Regiment were also purchased and distributed by the state. In addition, except for the tin kettles and bayonets imported from California, the rest of these equipment were produced by local factories in Texas.

The source of soldiers of the Texas Regiment is very high-quality, basically composed of the local ruling class and the middle class, such as plantation owners, as well as the children and retainers of plantation owners. These people have relatively high military literacy, and most of them have participated in the two Mexican-American Wars and have rich practical experience. Their combat effectiveness is naturally not to be underestimated.

The spirit of the Texas Regiment is very good. Liang Yao, who was riding on a horse and inspecting the Texas Regiment accompanied by his father-in-law, subconsciously compared the Texas Regiment with his own troops.

The Texas Regiment is only slightly inferior to the three main regiments under his command that are often stationed in various places for combat training, and is stronger than his militia.

After the trip to Austin, Liang Yao took a special train to Houston, the most prosperous city in Texas.

Houston is well planned and constructed. The last time I came to Houston, except for the main roads, the roads in the city of Houston were not hardened. The road surface was bumpy and became muddy and difficult to walk on when it rained.

In Houston now, except for the newly built community roads in the suburbs, which have not been hardened yet and only paved with some gravel. The roads in the city are basically hardened. The square in front of the city hall is also paved with luxurious stone slabs.

Of course, the city construction of Houston is not Liang Yao’s most concerned issue. His most concerned issue is Houston’s shipyard and local coastal defense forces.

The former Texas senator Espy is responsible for Houston’s defense and the command investigation of the local coastal defense fleet.

As a guide, Espy introduced the coastal defense guns on the Houston coast to Liang Yao. These coastal defense guns are large-caliber rifled Napoleon guns produced by the Austin Arsenal.

At the same time, Espy also revealed his intention to purchase Sacramento coastal defense guns. After all, California and Texas now have railways, and large artillery purchased from the Sacramento Arsenal can also be transported by rail and directly shipped to Houston.

Espy had visited San Francisco and Los Angeles, and was deeply impressed by the coastal defense forces of these two coastal cities.

In particular, the firing rate and accuracy of the Sacramento cannon are far beyond the reach of the Napoleon cannon. The only drawback is that the Sacramento cannon is too expensive. Fortunately, compared to money, Texas lacks a sense of security. As long as Liang Yao nods in agreement, Texas can also spend some money to buy the Sacramento cannon and its matching shells to enrich the coastal defense forces of the Port of Houston.