During the American Civil War, John Pierpont Morgan financed the purchase of 5,000 surplus rifles at $3.50 each, which were then sold back to the government for $22 each.
[1][2] The weapons, known as "Hall's Carbines", were purchased by arms dealer Arthur M. Eastman in a deal negotiated with James Wolfe Ripley, Brigadier General and head of the US Ordinance Bureau, in June 1861.
Stevens quickly negotiated a sale to field general John C. Frémont for $22, promising to bore out the rifles to fifty-eight caliber.
[4] Gordon Wasson argued that there was no evidence Morgan knew that he was participating in a scheme to profit from the chaotic situation at the onset of the Civil War.
[1] However, Matthew Josephson had earlier asserted that Morgan certainly did know, because he had presented the government with a bill for $58,175 before he delivered the remaining rifles that were being held as collateral.