Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 27.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Report of arms, etc., of Grimes's division, Second corps, A. N. V., for April 10th, 1865.

		Small arms—Calibre, 58.	Small arms—Calibre, 59.	Bayonets.	Cartridge Boxes.	Cartridge Boxes Belts.	Waist Belts.	Bayonets Scabbards.	Cap Pouches.	Ball Screws.	Screw Drivers.	Wipers.	Round Ammunition—Calibre, 58.
On hand today	In hands of men,	722		47	689	205	676	103	681	25	28	22	22,590
	In brigade ordnance wagons	11	1		19		28	11	23	1			28,750
	In division train,	30			14		10	10	2				11,000
		——	——	——	——	——	——	——	——	——	——	——	——
Total on hand,		763	1	47	722	205	714	124	706	26	28	22	62,340

Respectfully submitted,

Copy of ordnance report of Grimes's Division, Second Corps, A. N. V., made at Appomattox C. H., Va., April 10th, 1865, to the Chief of Ordnance, A. N. Va. From the duplicate original retained by the ordnance officer of the division.

To understand aright the foregoing report, it should be stated that Grimes's division (formerly Rodes's), consisted of four brigades, Battle's Alabama, Cook's Georgia, Cox's North Carolina, and Grimes's North Carolina, the last commanded by Colonel D. G. Coward.

Battle's brigade comprised the 3d, 5th, 6th, 12th and 61st Alabama regiments; Cook's brigade, the 4th, 12th, 21st and 44th Georgia; Cox's brigade, the 1st , 2d, 3d, 4th, 14th and 30th North Carolina; Grimes's brigade, the 32d, 43d, 45th and 53d North Carolina regiments and the 2d North Carolina battalion, as large as some of the regiments. There were thus twenty regiments with 722 muskets in their hands, an average of thirty-six to the regiment, not four to the company. There were, however, about thirty-two rounds of ammunition per musket in the cartridge-boxes, forty in the brigade ordinance wagons, and fifteen in the division train, or eighty-seven, say, all together, enough to put up a pretty stiff fight, as it was the usual custom to have at least a hundred rounds (better a hundred and twenty), per musket with the troops. This division was the largest of the three in the corps, so the 2d corps (Gordon's) had but about 2,000 muskets at the surrender the day before (April 9th).

If now we examine Volume XV (1887), of the Southern Historical Society Papers, containing the paroles of the army of Northern Virginia (pp. 237-271), we shall find that there were paroled in Battle's Alabama brigade, officers, 33; rank and file, 330; in Cook's Georgia brigade, officers, 28; rank and file, 320; in Cox's North Carolina brigade, officers, 51; rank and file, 517; in Grimes's North Carolina brigade, officers, 34; rank and file, 492; total in division, officers, 146; rank and file, 1,659; a good illustration of the quality of the ‘Tarheels’ for sticking it out, as over 1,000 of their men were from the ‘Old North State;’ but as I have not the brigade reports, it cannot be determined how many muskets were in each brigade.

The discrepancy between the number of men with muskets (722), and the number paroled (1,659), is great, but it should be remembered that the latter figure includes musicians, teamsters, and detailed men of all kinds in the commissary, quartermaster, medical and ordnance departments of the four brigades and the division. It is [179] possible too that some stragglers may have come up in the meantime, although the ranks were kept pretty well closed up after the enemy got in our rear. However, 722 muskets represents the fighting strength of Grimes's division on April 9th, 1865.