5fish
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The Confederacy had to find a way to make gunpowder during the Civil War.
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At Ashley Ferry Nitre Works near Charleston, South Carolina, the Confederate government paid enslavers between $13 and $26 a month per enslaved woman for her lease—often the same amount paid for enslaved men.
Between 1863 and 1864, Adelle, Bella, Charlotte, Clara, Cretia, Dinah, Dorcas, Eliza, Eugenia, Grace, Hannah, Hetty, Jane, Judith, Katy, Linda, Lucy, Polly, Nancy, Sarah, Silla, Silvia, and Tenah all labored for the Confederate States Nitre and Mining Service, turning the human excrement and urine in the nitre beds through the sweltering southern summer and cold fall weather without receiving any pay themselves.
Potassium nitrate, in particular, is a critical element of gunpowder, and the Confederacy acquired it through several methods. One was through removing potassium nitrate–rich bat guano from caves; another method was through creating “nitre beds.” These were large rectangular pits filled with rotted manure and straw and covered weekly with urine and the liquid removed from privies and cesspools. The solid matter was rotated regularly with the urine by hand to create the desperately needed saltpeter.
www.battlefields.org
Mammoth Cave and Great Saltpeter Cave are part of an extensive cave system in Kentucky. Remnants of the mining operations from the War of 1812 still exist today. These mining operations supported the gunpowder needs of a fledgling United States of America when foreign sources were blocked by the British.
Confederate miners often produced the saltpeter entirely underground to avoid detection. However, many mines were discovered, and the workers were subsequently imprisoned. Schoolhouse Cave in Pendleton County, West Virginia is the only cave known to have been mined for saltpeter by Unionists during the Civil War. Following the war, saltpeter mining was discontinued as new technologies rendered the mines obsolete.
During the Civil War, both the Union and Confederacy obtained saltpeter, a key ingredient in gunpowder, through different means. The Union largely relied on imported saltpeter, primarily from India. The Confederacy, facing a blockade and lack of established domestic industry, sourced saltpeter from bat guano found in limestone caves, particularly in states like Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. They also experimented with "nitre beds" using manure and urine to create saltpeter.
.
At Ashley Ferry Nitre Works near Charleston, South Carolina, the Confederate government paid enslavers between $13 and $26 a month per enslaved woman for her lease—often the same amount paid for enslaved men.
Between 1863 and 1864, Adelle, Bella, Charlotte, Clara, Cretia, Dinah, Dorcas, Eliza, Eugenia, Grace, Hannah, Hetty, Jane, Judith, Katy, Linda, Lucy, Polly, Nancy, Sarah, Silla, Silvia, and Tenah all labored for the Confederate States Nitre and Mining Service, turning the human excrement and urine in the nitre beds through the sweltering southern summer and cold fall weather without receiving any pay themselves.
Potassium nitrate, in particular, is a critical element of gunpowder, and the Confederacy acquired it through several methods. One was through removing potassium nitrate–rich bat guano from caves; another method was through creating “nitre beds.” These were large rectangular pits filled with rotted manure and straw and covered weekly with urine and the liquid removed from privies and cesspools. The solid matter was rotated regularly with the urine by hand to create the desperately needed saltpeter.
Spelunking for Saltpeter
The winter weather may have you thinking about hibernating to escape the cold, but there are some places that might make for interesting adventures – caves!
Mammoth Cave and Great Saltpeter Cave are part of an extensive cave system in Kentucky. Remnants of the mining operations from the War of 1812 still exist today. These mining operations supported the gunpowder needs of a fledgling United States of America when foreign sources were blocked by the British.
Confederate miners often produced the saltpeter entirely underground to avoid detection. However, many mines were discovered, and the workers were subsequently imprisoned. Schoolhouse Cave in Pendleton County, West Virginia is the only cave known to have been mined for saltpeter by Unionists during the Civil War. Following the war, saltpeter mining was discontinued as new technologies rendered the mines obsolete.
During the Civil War, both the Union and Confederacy obtained saltpeter, a key ingredient in gunpowder, through different means. The Union largely relied on imported saltpeter, primarily from India. The Confederacy, facing a blockade and lack of established domestic industry, sourced saltpeter from bat guano found in limestone caves, particularly in states like Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. They also experimented with "nitre beds" using manure and urine to create saltpeter.
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