Edward N. Spiller (1825-1871) was born in Rappahannock County, Virginia to Henry and Anne Strother Calvert Spiller. About 1850, Spiller moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and began a dry goods business. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he moved his business to Richmond, Virginia. During his time in Richmond, Spiller founded the Spiller and Burr Pistol Factory, which received a contract from the Confederacy to produce 15,000 pistols. Spiller lived in Atlanta, Georgia, for a short time after the war. He later decided to return to Baltimore and reestablish his dry goods business. Additional biographical information about Edward N. Spiller has not been determined.

James Henry Burton (1823-1894) was born in Jefferson County, Virginia. He was educated in Pennsylvania and trained at a machine shop in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1844, Burton began work in the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia and became the master armorer in 1849. In 1855, he moved to Enfield, England and became chief engineer of the Royal Small Arms Factory. In 1861, Burton took charge of the Confederate armory in Richmond, Virginia. He soon became superintendent of all Confederate armories. Additional biographical information about James Henry Burton has not been determined.

Reese Helm Butler (1833-1886) was born in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Sometime during the early 1850's, he became a Brooklyn-trained machinist and later worked in the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry. In early 1862, James Burton recruited Butler to work as the superintendent of the Spiller and Burr Pistol Factory. Butler became the superintendent of the Raleigh Bayonet Factory after the Spiller and Burr Pistol Factory moved to Georgia. After the Civil War he was superintendent and partner in the Atlanta Machine Works in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional biographical information about Reese Helm Butler has not been determined.