The ironworks that supplied the CSS Virginia and Confederate artillery

If you want to know why the Confederacy picked Richmond as its headquarters, look no further than the massive ironworks on Tredegar Street. The Confederacy needed heavy metal, and the location of the works was a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond the Confederate capital. It was the largest ironworks in the South by 1860, providing the iron plating for the CSS Virginia and approximately half of the artillery used by the Confederate States Army.

The operation started in 1836 when a group of local businessmen hired a young engineer named Rhys Davies. Davies brought iron workers from Tredegar, Wales, to build the furnaces and rolling mills. Davies died in Richmond in September 1838 from stab wounds sustained in a fight with a workman. He was buried on Belle Isle in the James River.

In 1841, Joseph Reid Anderson became the manager of Tredegar Iron Works at the age of 28. Anderson eventually acquired ownership of the foundry in 1848. He introduced slave labor to Tredegar to cut production costs. By 1861, half of the 900 workers were slaves, many holding skilled positions. By 1860, Tredegar became a leading iron producer in the country.

Most industrial sites ended up as charred skeletons after the war, but Tredegar managed to avoid destruction during the evacuation of the city. It continued production through the mid-20th century. Today, the site is a National Historic Landmark and houses the American Civil War Museum.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons