The Ordnance Depot at Tampa was located on Lafayette Street, at the
end of the bridge over the river, next to the Tampa Bay Hotel. The
river washed the sides of the building, which was occupied by the
Tampa Athletic Club, and had formerly been used as a club-house. There
were two stories and a basement. The basement was nearly on a level
with the river, the main floor on a level with the bridge, and there
was also a spacious upper floor. The main floor was used for storage
of light articles of ordnance; the basement for heavy articles and
ammunition. Hundreds of thousands of rounds of rifle and revolver ball
cartridges, thousands of rounds of Hotchkiss fixed ammunition, and
many hundreds of pounds of powder charges for field artillery and
mortars were here stored. Miscellaneous assortments were daily coming
in, generally without any mark on the box by which to learn what were
the contents. The name of the arsenal, if from an arsenal, was usually
stamped on the seal; generally there was no mark whatever to designate
the origin or contents of the many boxes which came from ordinary
posts. The invoices came from a week to ten days behind or in advance
of the arrival of the boxes, and there was not the slightest clue to
be gained from them. Consequently those who had to check up invoices
and prepare for issues were at their wits' end to keep things
straight. A requisition for so many articles would come in, duly
approved; unless the boxes containing these articles happened to have
been unpacked, it was uncertain whether they were on hand or not. No
wholesale merchant of any sense would ship out boxes of goods without
some indication of their contents; but that was exactly what was done
from all over the country to the Ordnance Depot at Tampa.

The upper floor consisted of one large room. A rope railing was placed
around it to preserve clear space around the desks. There were several
of these for the ordnance officer and the various clerks. A chief