Way more complicated than that, Joe. I recently bought a book written by one David A. Armstrong in 1982. Title is "Bullets and Bureaucrats: The Machine Gun and the United States Army, 1861-1916". The writer points out that there were only 5 Chiefs of Ordnance 1861-1918.
1861-1863: James W. Ripley
1864-1874: Alexander B. Dyer
1874-1891: Stephen Vincent Benet
1891-1901: Adelbert R. Buffington
1901-1918: William Crozier
The Army was always preparing to fight the last war, but these guys ran what was described as a "closed corporation". Internal Army politics determined the instructions given to the various boards (made up of junior officers) assigned to evaluate different types of weapons. The boards followed their instructions closely and dared not deviate. Neither did they tell the big shots about any questions that should have been asked or instructions that should have been given. There was at least an "assumed" list of favored inventors and favored manufacturers.
