Despite its appearance in the photograph, the Winder Building was once a hub of activity during the Civil War and housed the United States Army Ordnance Department, including the Chief of Ordnance’s office. Ordnance officers signed contracts, reviewed carbine’s inspection and test reports, and made logistical decisions that implemented the purchasing of reliable-as well as some unintentionally obsolete-carbines.

 

Through the Ordnance Department’s contract system, where they purchased large orders from arms companies after the guns passed inspection, the government was the largest carbine buyer in the United States. The contract system put great financial burnden on arms manufacturing companies, especially if their arms did not pass inspection.