James Wolfe Ripley was an American soldier who served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1861, he was selected to be the 5th Chief of Ordnance for the United States Army Ordnance Department. In the early days of the war, he was instrumental in rifling and modernizing the artillery's ordnance. Additionally, Ripley also delayed the introduction of repeating firearms, particularly the Gatling gun and the Spencer rifle, into U.S. arsenals, an act that has been widely criticized by later historians.
- Occupation
- military officer, writer
- Citizenship
- United States
- Born
- December 10, 1794, 1794
- Died
- March 16, 1870, 1870
