The following information on ordnance for the 1st Maryland Cavalry is taken from the Official Records housed at the Maryland Historical Society and from many first hand accounts in diaries by men of the 1st MD. As with many Confederate units, information is widely scattered and continues to be discovered. The information we have found so far points us in a general direction and helps us make to some extant "educated guesses." However, there are some things that we can determine are correct for the 1st MD. The Official Records give us the most concrete documentation, but can not give us all the details to what every trooper would have had. The diaries are great sources for individuals, but may not fill in all the pieces. So, the best we can do is gather as much as we can and continue to look for other information that will fill in more of the gaps.
The earliest known information for ordnance from the 1st MD that we have discovered so far comes from Captain Frank Bond. In May of 1863 towards the end of Jone's West Virginia raid, Bond signs for the following ordnance.
400 Sharps Rounds 400 caps 100 Colt Army rounds 100 Colt Navy rounds 300 Pistol Caps
The interesting part of this record is that it is written on what looks like a scrap of paper and Bond signs it "F.A. Bond, Capt Cmdg MD Batt" The scap of paper also says that he drew this ordnance from Gen. Imboden's command. At this time, Major Brown had been wounded at Greenland Gap and Bond was in command of the Battalion. Bond was signing for ordnance not just for Co. A of which he was the commander, but for the entire battalion. We have read that it is believed that Co. A was armed with Sharps. We believe this amunition could have been distributed to the entire battalion for the men who needed. More to follow on why we think this could have been the case.
On a side note, there has yet to be any information in the Official Records on any trooper's diary that we have read that suggest the 1st MD Cav. ever carried shotguns.
