The Confederate Powderworks (a.k.a. the Augusta Powderworks) was a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War, the only permanent structures completed by the Confederate States of America. [1] Colonel George Washington Rains chose the old United States Arsenal site between the Augusta Canal and Savannah River in Augusta, Georgia, as a secure inland location with good rail and water connections.
George Washington Rains graduated from West Point with the class of 1842 [2] and served as a chemistry teacher for the Military Academy. He had resigned to become president of an iron works in Newburgh, New York. At the start of the Civil War he chose allegiance to his native North Carolina and returned to the south. He was placed in charge of the Gunpowder and Niter Bureau by Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. [3]
Construction of the powder works began in September 1861, a 130 hp steam engine was purchased from an Atlanta flour mill owned by Richard Peters [4] and the powder works was producing gunpowder in just 7 months in 1862. Rains was guided by a pamphlet written by a British artillery officer describing the powder works at Waltham Abbey in Essex County near London, and also found someone who had worked there to advise him. [3]
As was customary for gunpowder mills, the buildings were separated and designed to survive explosions, with raw materials starting at one end, and the finished powder ending a mile and a half away at the other end. The saltpeter refinery building was the largest, was designed in Gothic style as a replica of the British Houses of Parliament.
The Confederate Powderworks was the second largest gunpowder factory in the world at that time, producing 3.5 tons per day. More than 2.75 million pounds of first-quality gunpowder (a majority of the powder used by the Confederacy) were produced before its closure in 1865. [5] By comparison, Union gunpowder manufacture was distributed among many mills, with the larger Hazard Powder Company of Connecticut producing 40% of the annual production of 8.4 million pounds. [6]
Historian and publisher Theodore P. Savas of Savas Beatie is finishing what promises to be a definitive biography of George W. Rains, the powder works, and Confederate logistics. It will include an in-depth examination of his early years, his extensive Mexican War service, interwar years, a detailed discussion of his role during the Civil War based extensively on primary and heretofore unused documents, and his postwar life.
Although the massive works were seized and dismantled after the war ended, Rains asked in 1872 that the obelisk chimney be spared as he had designed it to "... remain a monument to the Confederacy should the Powderworks pass away". On June 2, 1879, Augusta gave custody of the chimney to the Confederate Survivors Association to "beautify it and protect it from injury as a Confederate Memorial". The association repaired the square castellated base, protected the corners and in the face, looking towards the canal inserted a large tablet of Italian marble, bearing this inscription: "This Obelisk Chimney — sole remnant of the extensive Powder Works here erected under the auspices of the Confederate Government — is by the Confederate Survivors' Association of Augusta, with the consent of the City Council, conserved in Honor of a fallen Nation, and inscribed to the memory of those who died in the Southern Armies during the War Between the States".
The 150 foot tall chimney still stands on the Augusta Canal and is one of the more recognizable features of the Augusta skyline today, located at the Sibley Mill at 1717 Goodrich Street in Augusta. The Sibley cotton mill was built on the site as a private venture in 1880–82, using bricks from the demolished powder works, and became one of the largest and most successful cotton mills in the region. [5] It manufactured denim until 2006, and the mill's water-driven turbines still generate electricity which is sold to Georgia Power.
The chimney is the only remaining portion of the original powder works. The B/G E. Porter Alexander Camp #158, Sons of Confederate Veterans, spent eight years raising $192,000 to restore the chimney with its historical marker; work started on November 19, 2009, and was completed on March 12, 2010. A rededication ceremony was held on Oct. 9, 2010. [7]
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon, and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The sulfur and carbon act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, building pipelines, tunnels, and roads.
Edward Porter Alexander was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), in the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general.
The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital.
The Augusta Canal is a historic canal located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. The canal is fed by the Savannah River and passes through three levels in suburban and urban Augusta before the water returns to the river at various locations. It was devised to harness the water power at the fall line of the Savannah River to drive mills, to provide transportation of goods, and to provide a municipal water supply. It is the only canal in the US in continuous use for its original purposes of providing power, transport, and municipal water.
Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval artillery. Nor does it include smaller, specialized artillery classified as small arms.
Josiah Gorgas was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama.
Richmond, Virginia served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War from May 8, 1861, hitherto the capital had been Montgomery, Alabama. Notwithstanding its political status, it was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war effort, as well as the terminus of five railroads, and as such would have been defended by the Confederate States Army at all costs.
Henry Harford Cumming (1799–1866) was an important figure in antebellum Augusta, Georgia.
Selma, Alabama, during the American Civil War was one of the South's main military manufacturing centers, producing tons of supplies and munitions, and turning out Confederate warships. The Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry complex included a naval foundry, shipyard, army arsenal, and gunpowder works. Following the Battle of Selma, Union Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson's troops destroyed Selma's army arsenal and factories, as well as much of the city.
The Sibley Mill is a historic building located on the Augusta Canal at 1717 Goodrich Street near downtown Augusta, Georgia, United States. Designed by Jones S. Davis, it was built on a site previously occupied by the Confederate Powderworks, and was completed in 1882. While the interior is typical of any textile mill of the period, its imposing exterior is notable for an ornate style variously described as eclectic and neo-gothic. Textile products were produced there until 2006, since when the building has been unoccupied. The mill was built to operate on hydropower, and continues to generate electricity today.
A powder mill was a mill where gunpowder is made from sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal.
Powder Magazine, Powder House, or Powderworks may refer to:
Gabriel James Rains was a career United States Army officer and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
California Powder Works was the first American explosive powder manufacturing company west of the Rocky Mountains. When the outbreak of the Civil War cut off supplies of gunpowder to California's mining and road-building industries, a local manufacturer was needed. Originally located near Santa Cruz, California, the company was incorporated in 1861 and began manufacturing gunpowder in May 1864. For 50 years, it was a major employer in the county, employing between 150 and 275 men. The powder works was located on a flat adjacent to the San Lorenzo River, three miles upstream of Santa Cruz.
Oriental Powder Company was a gunpowder manufacturer with mills located on the Presumpscot River in Gorham and Windham, Maine. The company was one of the four largest suppliers to Union forces through the American Civil War.
Theodore P. Savas worked an attorney for many years, was a former adjunct college instructor, and is an entrepreneur, award-winning author, and award-winning publisher. He is the co-founder and majority partner of Savas Beatie, an independent book trade publishing company that specializes in military and general history, and especially the American Civil War. He writes and speaks about Civil War topics, as well as the American Revolutionary War, and WWII German U-boats.
The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau was a civilian government bureau to provide the Confederate States of America with needed materials such as copper, iron, lead, saltpeter, sulfur, zinc, and other metals. The Bureau oversaw civilian contracts and offered advice, instruction and guidance in the production of these materials. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was also known as the "CSNMB", the "Bureau of Nitre" or the "Nitre Bureau". The Niter and Mining Corps was the military division of the Bureau. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was part of the Confederate Ordnance Department, under the supervision of General Josiah Gorgas. The Nitre and Mining Bureau was supervised by General Isaac M. St. John. The Central Ordinance Laboratory was headed by John Mallet.
George Washington Rains was a United States Army and later Confederate States Army officer. A skilled engineer and inventor; he was instrumental in providing the Confederacy with much-needed gunpowder throughout the American Civil War. He also was the younger brother of fellow Confederate general Gabriel J. Rains.
The Poudrerie nationale de Vonges is a French powder mill established in 1691 in Vonges, Côte-d'Or. It manufactured explosives for use in quarries, mines and fireworks. During World War I (1914–18) it manufactured munitions. It expanded after the war, producing explosives for civil use. During World War II (1939–45) production was scaled back drastically, but expanded again after the war. The powder mill was fully privatized in 2008.