Arming the Confederacy : how Virginia's minerals forged the rebel war machine / Robert C. Whisonant.

Author
Whisonant, Robert C. (Robert Clyde), 1941- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • Cham, Switzerland ; New York : Springer, [2015]
  • ©2015
Description
xv, 206 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Engineering Library - Stacks TN24.V8 W48 2015 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    This is a fresh look at the American Civil War from the standpoint of the natural resources necessary to keep the armies in the field. This story of the links between minerals, topography, and the war in western Virginia now comes to light in a way that enhances our understanding of America?s greatest trial. Five mineral products ? niter, lead, salt, iron, and coal ? were absolutely essential to wage war in the 1860s. For the armies of the South, those resources were concentrated in the remote Appalachian highlands of southwestern Virginia. From the beginning of the war, the Union knew that the key to victory was the destruction or occupation of the mines, furnaces, and forges located there, as well as the railroad that moved the resources to where they were desperately needed. To achieve this, Federal forces repeatedly advanced into the treacherous mountainous terrain to fight some of the most savage battles of the War.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-199) and index.
    Contents
    • Introduction
    • Minerals and warfare
    • Terrain and a tale of two nations
    • The land they fought for
    • Niter and gunpowder
    • Bullets, firearms, and Colonel Chiswell's mines
    • The lead mines under attack
    • The Saltville salt works
    • Two battles and a massacre
    • Iron, civilizations, and war
    • Virginia's iron industry in the Civil War
    • Coal, Confederate mines, and the CSS Virginia
    • Confederate railroads
    • Union raiders in the New River Valley
    • Epilogue.
    ISBN
    • 331914507X
    • 9783319145075
    OCLC
    898157865
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