C.S. Arsenal Macon-"The Last of the poor old Confederacy...."

I ran across this undated newspaper clipping, presumably from an immediate post-war edition of "The Macon (Georgia)Telegraph."

"GRAND ACCIDENTAL BOMBARDMENT

About 4 O'clock yesterday evening, an alarm of fire was given,and the firemen and public in gneral ran down in the direction of the Passenger Station House, some saying the Macon and Western (Rail Road) shops were on fire-some Nisbet's Mill, and some the Foundry of Mr. Scofield. While yet in the distance, however, a tremendous explosion and a column of dense white smoke told the story that the scene of the fire was a temporary arsenal, erected by the Federal authorities as a place of deposite for the large quantity of Bombs of all sizes-the property of the "so called" Confederate Government, found here on the United States occupation. Fortunately the building was located in a thicket, a good distance from any other house, and our adventurous firemen very wisely concluded not to undertake the fight, but to let it burn.

For an hour, the bombs continued to explode with great rapidity and tremendous noise, conveying a vivid idea of a furious cannonade. While this incessant peal was going on, a Federal soldier running by the group where the writer was standing, without coat, vest, hat or shoes was hailed by an officer, who demanded if he (the fugitive) was on duty at the arsenal, and if anybody was hurt. "Nobody," said the sentinel, "except one Negro who was blown to pieces, and another had his legs and a piece of his head carried off." The story, as we gathered it from the conversation, was that two or three Negroes were engaged in drawing the fuses and emptying the shells, when one of the shells exploded, followed by others in rapid succession. The sentinel says he drove up the chimney and made his escaped with all the dispatch he could muster, and he the thought the rest got off except the two unfortunate Negroes alluded to.

The loss of life was all the damage-for we suppose the shells were a very troublesome and worthless property to the government. The collection was large-the explosions grand, fast and furious, and so the last of the poor old Confederacy was literally "blown to atoms."

What was the dateline on the article? And did you find it online?

It was just an old newspaper clipping with no date nor indication from which paper it came from. It came out of a library file. It was NOT found online.

I am certain that the clipping was from The Macon Telegraph because it mentions several Macon landmarks in the article. That it was in the Post-War Era because it mentions that Macon was under "United States occupation."

By 1863 the Confederate Ordnance Department had decided to build the world's largest arsenal and munitions complex in Macon, GA. To that end, new buildings were being built are were already constructed and the arsenal at Macon turned out thousands of tons of both small arms and artillery ammunition for the Confederate armies.

Of course, at the end of the war, all Confederate property automatically became property of the United States Government. Another clipping that I found mentions that the shells had been sold at a "Surplus Auction" by the Federal government. That the winning bidder had hired the Negroes to remove the fuses and powder from the shells. This was so the shells could be sold to a foundry as "scrap iron" to be melted down.

Unfortunately, Confederate artillery fuses were "iffy" at best and obviously, one went off when one of the workers were trying to remove a fuse from one of the shells.

Some information on logistics and the C.S. Armory and arsenal in Macon, GA. Sherman feinted towards Macon, but avoided attacking the city directly. James H. Wilson, US Cavalry, captured Macon at the close of the war, not destroying it.
Much of the equipment from the armory was shipped to C.S. armories in Savannah and Columbia,SC before Sherman's approach.
I find some interesting, specific, logistics information on the internet, not found in the "civil war battle books", that many of us read.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gahistmarkers/CSAcentrallabhistmarker.htm

Confederate States Central Laboratory State Historical Marker
Located at 3051 Vineville Ave. at Vista Circle, Macon


(Text)

CONFEDERATE STATES
CENTRAL LABORATORY

Approximately 100 yards south of this point stood the Confederate States Central Laboratory. Erected between 1862 and 1865, this laboratory-factory complex was a permanent facility and center of Confederate States Ordnance testing and production. Its main building was a two storied brick and granite structure 600 feet long. Superintendent of all C.S. laboratories Lt. Col. John W. Mallet selected this site and had his headquarters here. Machinery and equipment for the facility were fabricated in Macon, Atlanta, Richmond and Leeds, England. After contributing much to the southern war effort, the site was surrendered on April 20, 1865, to Union Gen. James H. Wilson.


http://csarmory.org/
Macon Armory


C.S. Armory, Macon, Ga.
Dec 7, 1864

General [Gorgas],

"I have the honor to report that in consequence of the advance of General Sherman and his army through Ga. need in compliance with your instructions of 30th Sept ulto with reference to the removal of the Machinery & Stores at this Armory in the event of Macon being threatened by the enemy, and also acting under the advice of Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb Comdg Mil Dist of Georgia, with whom I conferred personally, the entire machinery at this Armory was taken down about the middle of last month and packed in cases for transportation and the greater portion of it sent away as follows : All the machines in charge of the M.S. K. were sent to Savannnah Ga. Also the greater portion of the machines in Machine Shop. The machinery for the manufacture of pistols I regarded as pertaining to the New Armory, and I therefore decided to send it to Columbia S.C. along with the foreign machinery and such as has had been constricted at this Armory for the Manufacture of Arms. Only about half of the pistol machinery was shipped before the Central R.R. was occupied by the enemy and also about two-thirds of the foreign machinery, and about one half of the arms machinery constructed here."


Products of the
C.S. Armory at Macon

"approximately 1000 - 1500 gun stocks each month for the Richmond Armory from November 1862 to July 1864."

"The armory also purchased the revolver manufacturing works of Spiller & Burr of Atlanta. Beginning in March 1864, the Macon Armory began manufacturing Spiller & Burr pattern revolvers. Operations were curtailed after late July 1864 secondary to General Sherman's movements to the north around Atlanta. But before operations totally ceased on April 20, 1865 the armory manufactured 677 revolvers of this pattern."


http://www.confederatesaddles.com/macon.html

"Centrally located in the deep South away from the threat of Federal forces, Macon was selected in April 1862 as the location of a huge center for the manufacture and distribution of nearly all of the military needs of the Confederate Armies. By late summer, the Confederate Government had established in Macon a large arsenal, its Central Armory and Laboratory. Before wars end it would even host a Treasury Depository for Confederate Gold. In Macon, various Government institutions manufactured, stockpiled and supplied cannon, ordnance, small arms, ammunition, chemicals, accoutrements, clothing, horse equipment and other necessary supplies for the Army of Tennessee, the Army of Mississippi and even the Army of Northern Virginia. In the closing days of the war, Lee’s and Johnston’s armistice allowed Macon’s Confederate facilities to survive certain destruction when they were surrendered with the city to the Federal cavalry under Gen. James Wilson on April 20th, 1865."

http://www.american-firearms.com/american-firearms/z-html/company-M/Macon Armory/Macon Armory.html

"The machinery of the Macon Armory was buyed in England and destinated for building the Enfild rifles. The Arsenal was equiped to produce ofer 75.000 rifles per year. On April 20, 1865 Colonel Frank White, 17th Indiana Cavalry tock possession of the arsenal.

During its existance, the Confederate States spent $ 1.2 million of buildings, $ 530.000 on machinery, $ 314.000 on manufacturing."

[note: a quick study on my part on Macon C.S. logistics]


http://www.gavolbn.org/ColumbusArsenal.html
Information on Columbus, GA arsenal and armory and other arsenals in Georgia.

Yep, know all about the Macon Arsenal-matter of fact, about ten years ago when one of the foundations of the old arsenal building was dug up when city crews extended a water line.

A local resident (who is also a SCV member) purchased a couple of pallets of those stacked up foundation bricks (the city was going to haul them to the dump for disposal) and he cleaned them up. Then he had engraved brass plates affixed to each brick denoting the fact that it had been one of the bricks in the C.S. Arsenal Macon.

I got a couple dozen of those bricks and carried them to the N-SSA Nationals and sold them various Skirmishers for around $10.00 each. I kept one as a souvenir and it is now on the mantle piece of my den.

Obviously, while the machinery and tooling from the Macon Arsenal & Armory complex was shipped to the various other arsenals and depots in the quickly shrinking Confederacy as Sherman approached Macon, the artillery shells were not shipped out. Enough shells remained in Macon to created that post-war, tragic and "Grand Accidental Bombardment" referred to in that newspaper clipping.

In my search of the personal records of members of the 12th Ala Cav, I came across items that were issued to some of them from the Macon Arsenal in late 1864 and what they were valued at. That's one reason I'm interested in this. The other is that I'd love to find an online transcription of the Macon Confederate newspaper from that same time frame.

I just did some checking and it seems like Macon fell to Wilson's Cav on April 20. Howell Cobb and Gustavus W. Smith captured. The Montgomery papers were denouncing news of Lee's surrender as a hoax as late as the 24th, then admitted it on the 27th. Macon was believed to be where Jeff Davis would establish his government, along with 2 million dollars from his treasury. He was also reported to have stashed 160 thou away in a Cuban bank. (By wire, I suppose.) Lincoln assassination reported, along with Stanton's statement that one of the St. Alban's raiders was among the conspirators, and that they planned the job in Canada with Richmond's knowledge.

Actually, Jefferson Davis was captured 40 odd miles South of Macon. Supposedly, he and his party were on their way to Florida.

And The Rest of The Story....

Another undated newspaper clipping describing "The Grand Accidental Bombardment" in Macon summed it up this way:

"From Lieutenant H.P. Webb of the U.S. Ordnance Department, we learn that the explosion was of shells disposed of at the recent Government sale here, and which the purchasere would not rusk removing on account of the danger. He thinks the loss will not exceed $50.00, aside from the value of the buildings destroyed, which were not worth a great deal.

Some very narrow escapes were made by the parties, who had the temerity to venture too near the exploding missiles. On the whole it was a beautiful sight, though it would have shown to better advantage at night."

[Editors note: You gotta love the dry Southern humor in that last paragraph!]

Some shells were also detonated by accident in Nashville in September 1865 while being transported by train. Sparks from the locomotive were believed to have set it off. About 8 were killed and over 100 injured.

Some of my distant kin in Dibrell's Cav surrendered at Washington, Ga., and were "payrolled," which I take to mean paroled. But they may have been given some of the money Davis was supposedly transporting.

Dear TerryB

I live in Georgia and I can sell you a Treasure Map to where the "Lost Confederate Gold" that President Davis and his party were transporting is buried. The map is only cost $49.95 [plus shipping and handling.]

So far, I have hundreds of satisfied customers.

Give me a call at: "BR-549"

I loved that episode of Brad Meltzer's show. I do believe some of the troops with Davis were paid, but obviously it would only have been their normal wages. Davis handed out all the coins in the CS treasury to the people of Richmond before he left. But of course the papers of the time were full of rumors, including those that were still in CS territory.