Bryan Howerton
Ordnance Sergeant
Tue Apr 17 12:57:44 2001


Hayes, do you know if there any such qualifications for ordnance sergeants? In the 8th Arkansas Battalion, four men successively served as ordnance sergeant in a single year. The first three were "relieved and reduced to ranks" while the last appointee kept his job (until the surrender of Port Hudson). There's nothing in the battalion's records to indicate why there was such a high turnover in this position. Would the first three have failed to pass some examination? Or would they have simply failed to perform the job adequately?