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Josiah Gorgas

 
Josiah Gorgas

 
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Josiah Gorgas
 
 
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Josiah Gorgas (July 1, 1818 – May 15, 1883) was one of the few Northern-born Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 generals in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. As chief of ordnance, he managed to keep the Confederate armies supplied with weapons and ammunition, despite the Union blockade
Union blockade

The Union Blockade refers to the actions between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, in which the Union Navy maintained a massive effort on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Coast of the United States of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederacy....
 and even though the South
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 had hardly any munitions industry before the war began.






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Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas (July 1, 1818 – May 15, 1883) was one of the few Northern-born Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 generals in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. As chief of ordnance, he managed to keep the Confederate armies supplied with weapons and ammunition, despite the Union blockade
Union blockade

The Union Blockade refers to the actions between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, in which the Union Navy maintained a massive effort on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Coast of the United States of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederacy....
 and even though the South
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 had hardly any munitions industry before the war began. He kept diaries during the Civil War which are now a popular subject of study for historians.

Early life

Josiah Gorgas was born in Dauphin County
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle, Pennsylvania Harrisburg metropolitan area....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
. He was graduated from West Point in 1841 and was assigned to the Ordinance Department. He served in the Mexican-American War and was promoted to captain in 1855. In 1853, he married Amelia Gayle
Amelia Gayle Gorgas

Amelia Gayle Gorgas was librarian and post-mistress of the University of Alabama for 25 years until her retirement at the age of eighty in 1907....
, daughter of former Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
 governor John Gayle. In 1854, their first son William Crawford Gorgas, who later became Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, was born. Gorgas served in arsenal
Arsenal

An arsenal is an establishment for the construction, repair, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition. The word arsenal appears in various forms in Romance languages , i.e....
s in different parts of the country before the Civil War broke out. He was commanding the Frankford Arsenal
Frankford Arsenal

The Frankford Arsenal was a United States Army ammunition plant located in the Bridesburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the original course of Frankford Creek....
 when he resigned from the United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
.

Civil War

He followed his wife into secession, moved to Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
 and became chief of ordnance for the Confederacy. In this capacity, he worked to create an armaments industry almost from scratch. The South had no foundry
Foundry

A foundry is a factory which produces metal castings from either ferrous or non-ferrous metals alloys. Metals are turned into parts by melting the metal into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and then removing the mold material or casting....
 except the Tredegar Iron Works
Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works is a historic iron foundry in Richmond, Virginia, United States of America. The site is now the location of a museum called The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar....
. There were no rifle works except small arsenals in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
, and Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,015....
, plus the captured machines from the Union armory in Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, West Virginia. It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac River and Shenandoah Rivers where the U.S....
. Gorgas established armories and foundries, found alternative sources for saltpeter
Potassium nitrate

Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula PotassiumNitrogenOxygen3. A naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen, KNO3 constitutes a critical oxidation component of black powder/gunpowder....
, and created a huge gunpowder
Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also called black powder, is an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate, KNO3 that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as a propellant in firearms and as a pyrotechnic composition in fireworks....
 mill at Augusta, Georgia. Thanks to his efforts, the Southern armies never lacked weapons, though they were short on almost everything else. On November 10, 1864, Gorgas was promoted to brigadier general
History of Confederate States Army Generals

The General Officers of the Confederate States of America were the senior military leaders of the Confederate States Army , serving during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865....
.

Postbellum

After the war, Gorgas accepted a position at the newly established University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee, Tennessee

Sewanee is an unincorporated town in Franklin County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place ....
. In 1878, he was elected president of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
 and moved to the house that is still known as Gorgas House. In 1883, he died, after which his wife became the university's librarian. The main university library is named the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library.

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