Also known as: Confederate Ordnance Department.
| Branch | Bureau of the Confederate War Department |
|---|---|
| Chief | Josiah Gorgas |
| Task | Supplying Southern armies with ordnance |
| Difficulty | A region with little arms industry |
Arming the South
The Confederate Ordnance Bureau was the Southern counterpart of the Federal Ordnance Department, charged with supplying the Confederate armies with guns, ammunition, and stores. It faced the enormous difficulty of doing so in a region that began the war with almost no arms industry.
Under its chief, Josiah Gorgas, the bureau created arsenals, foundries, and powder works and drew on imports run through the blockade, a remarkable improvisation that kept Confederate guns in action to the end.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: manuals, reports, and historical references.