 Established in 1828 as an ordnance manufacturing base, the Mount Vernon Arsenal served as one of the U.S. Army's main ammunition plants from its inception until the Civil War.On January 4, 1861, troops of the Alabama state militia took possession of the arsenal on the orders of Alabama governor Andrew B. Moore.The takeover from the small US Army force, commanded by Captain Jesse L. Reno, was peaceful and bloodless.