The
Mechanical and Industrial Resources of Richmond.
Under this caption, we design giving such occasional
statistical information respecting the extent, resources and progress of the
industrial interests of our city, as shall demonstrate at a glance the rapidly
increasing importance of Richmond as a manufacturing place, and the entire
ability of our mechanics, and business men generally, to assert with ease and
profit their entire independence of Yankee capital, and of Yankee enterprise. As
a matter of justice to long-established success, we devote this initial sketch
to the Richmond “Tredegar Iron Works” of Messrs. Joseph R. Anderson &
Co., situated at the James River terminus of ____ street. For a very interesting
visit to these extensive works, on Wednesday, and a detailed explanation of its
operations, we rest under obligations to the courtesy of Mr. Edward R. Archer,
its Assistant Superintendent.
THE
TREDEGAR IRON WORKS.
This vast and magnificent establishment, the resources and
the important services of which must constitute a prominent chapter in the
future history of Southern independence, has long enjoyed a very wide spread and
honorable celebrity, not only as the most extensive of its character in America,
but on the score also of the superior and admirable quality of the work which
has issued from it. Established many years ago, and at a period when the
mechanical and industrial inferiority of the business men of the South to those
of the North, seems to have been generally conceded even by Southern writers,
the Tredegar works, under the well directed skill and quiet enterprise of its
proprietors, gradually extended its operations, and developed its resources to a
degree which brought it into direct competition with the best establishments of
a similar class in the North, when its superior excellence in many, if not all
the branches of iron manufacture, extorted an unequivocal recognition from the
Government of the United States, which awarded to Messrs. Anderson & Co. the
construction of the engines of the first class steam frigates “Roanoke” and
“Colorado,” and the manufacture of a very considerable quantity of cannon
and ordnance, and projectiles of all kinds.
It was in this latter departments – the fabrication of
cannon – that the “Tredegar Works,” achieved its first popular
distinction. So decidedly superior were the ordnance here manufactured found to
be, that the fame of the foundry in which they were cast soon became firmly
established, and the U. S. government thenceforward, and up to within a short
time of the election of Lincoln, entrusted to Messrs. Anderson & Co. the
manufacture of the chief portion of the best ordnance required by the war
department. An officer of distinction in the old Federal navy, and, who had been
long engaged in superintending the manufacture and proof of ordnance made for
his government, writes of the Tredegar Foundry, that of some 1,200 guns made
there, every one of the number successfully withstood the tests to which they
were subjected, and, adds the safe assertion that “they are fully equal to any made in this country or in Europe.” In
proof of this opinion, the fact may be mentioned here that several of the
Tredegar guns have endured, without injury, upwards of 1,000 rounds, and in one
memorable instance at least, the piece safely withstood the excessive test of
1,800 consecutive firings to which it was subjected, for the purpose of
ascertaining its actual power of endurance. A chief cause of this remarkable
excellence of the ordnance made here, is said to exist in the admitted fact that
the iron used in their manufacture, and which is principally obtained from the
“Cloverdale Mine” in Botetourt county, Virginia, is the best in the world
for that purpose. It is certain, however, that the laudable professional pride
and mechanical skill of Messrs. Anderson & Co., have contributed no little
to their fame in this respect.
The experience and he facilities which the “Tredegar
Works” have thus been enabled to acquire, would seem to have been the result
of a special direction, which the enthusiastic patriot may well be excused for
regarding as providential. Without the establishment of Messrs. Anderson &
Co., and the opportune possession of the Gosport Navy Yard, it is difficult to
conceive how the South, relying solely upon human agencies, could have
successfully resisted the assaults of a neighboring, powerful, and
well-appointed enemy. The importance of these works to the South does not appear
to have been underrated by our enemies, since, avowedly, the chief object of the
“On to Richmond” march, was their destruction and consequent crippling of
Southern resources of war.
The number of ordnance, of all calibres, furnished to the
South by the Tredegar Works, we have it not in our power to state; but, taking
certain facts within our possession as the data
of the estimate, it must reach to hundreds. At present the utmost activity is
being displayed in this department, and from six to eight small, and about six
large guns, are turned out weekly. The floors of the machine shop are crowded
with projectiles of sizes and shapes, varying in weight from the one hundred
pound percussion shell of the rifled Columbiads, to the six pound shells of the
jaunty and symetrical, but destructive, little rifled “Tredegar gun,” as it
is termed.
The percussion shells, of which a large number are now
being used, are provided with Borman’s celebrated graduated fuse, with a
safety attachment – the invention of Dr. Rob’t S. Archer, a member of the
firm – to prevent premature explosions by the careless dropping of the shell.
Quite a number of these terrible projectiles are ready packed for transhipment
to Charleston, are [and] about 200 shells are each day sent to the laboratory to
be filled. The machinery for boring and rifling cannon are of the most improved
and powerful description, and are kept constantly employed. During our visit on
Wednesday, a monster 10 inch Columbiad weighing about 17,000 pounds and having a
range of four miles, was being rifled – a process which would occupy about two
days. Three of these enormous cannon are cast each week (in the average), and
six of them were, during our visit, undergoing the process of boring,
preparatory to being rifled. The operation of boring is by far the most tedious
of all connected with the manufacture of a gun, occupying from five days to two
weeks, according to the quality of the iron or the excellence of the tools used.
There are six boring beds, or mills, and a proportionate number of planers, or
lathes, for smoothing and finishing the piece after it has been bored. The light
“Tredegar Gun,” and rifled field pieces of ordinary calibre are turned off
with great rapidity, and removed to suitable fields of action as soon as
finished. Among the guns now being rifled for field service, are some fifty
bronze and iron guns of a small caliber, belonging to the State of Virginia.
These had heretofore been regarded as wholly useless, but will, in their altered
forms, become exceedingly effective. The latter pieces will be confided, it is
supposed, to the care of the Home Guards throughout the State. A number of
formidable looking eight-inch siege howitzers have also been completed, and are
now ready for shipment to different points of action. The process of fabricating
the terrible instruments of death, is full of interest to the uninitiated. The
guns are cast solidly, and after being reduced of their surplus length, are
placed upon the boring beds, and from thence transferred, to the turning lathes,
where the pieces are then cut down to their proper shape and dimensions, and
smoothed or polished.
The establishment is also largely engaged in the
manufacture of gun carriages, for field batteries and for heavy ordnance. Quite
a large number of these, made in the best and most substantial manner, have
already been sent away, and others are being almost daily conveyed to the
different fields of action. It was in this department that the most difficulty
was anticipated in meeting the requirements of our armies; yet here, also, the
energy of Messrs. Anderson & Co. has demonstrated the entirely
self-sustaining powers and resources of the South, by turning out from their
establishment carriages and all the appurtenances of field batteries, which
challenge the closest critical comparison with the best work of Northern
manufactories. A traveling forge to accompany the batteries into the field –
and numbers are being here made after an original design – struck us as being
one of the most complete, and practically available in all of its arrangements
we have yet seen.
Another decided improvement in the mechanism of artillery,
which this firm has originated are wrought iron carriages for barbette guns,
which have been found to far surpass the cumbrous oaken ones now generally used,
both in strength and in the ease with which the heaviest ordnance may be worked
upon them, while they fall as far below the latter in weight and in expense of
construction. The plan of these carriages was highly approved by the old
government, who were about to order them for the more important fortifications
along the coast, when Lincoln went in, and the Union became thenceforward as
“the baseless fabric of a vision.” Several of the improved wrought iron
carriages are now under construction and one of them has been already completed
– for certain Southern forts.
Many of the improvements which have been originated in the
manufacture of cannon, projectiles, &c., may be traced to the practiced
skill and the experience of Dr. Robt. S. Archer, one of the firm, who was
formerly in the United States Navy for many years, as surgeon, and who has
devoted a considerable portion of his life to experimenting in fire arms,
projectiles, &c.
The “Tredegar Gun,” to which reference has before been
made, is of an original design, and upon an entirely new principle. It is a six-pounder
iron rifled field piece, furnished with a patent friction primer instead of a
percussion hammer, and having a graduated sight, by means of which the gun may
be fired with the accuracy of a rifle. It is quite likely the Yankees will soon
hear of this busy little artillery hornet in the vicinity of Washington.
Extensive additions will shortly be made to the works now in operation, and
which will much facilitate the speedier manufacture of guns of the heaviest
calibre.
We have been thus full in our sketch of the military
operations of the Tredegar Works, because they exhibit at once their unlimited
capacity and the indomitable energy of its proprietors, and because that the
entire vast establishment is now wholly devoted to the pressing requirements of
the military service of the Confederacy. But while the manufacture of ordnance,
&c., exhibit the capacity of the establishment, they by no means afford a
just idea of its resources or the variety of its manufactures.
Very few intelligent Southern readers need be reminded, we
imagine, that in the manufacture of locomotives, the Tredegar Works stand second
to none on this continent. The fact is amply demonstrated by the popularity of
the admirable engines of the Tredegar stamp, upon the Southern roads, and even
upon those of Cuba, which are exclusively furnished with them we believe. But
even the most intelligent of Southern readers may well be surprised at the
variety of delicate and complicated machinery and steel ware, manufactured by
Messrs. Anderson & Co.; and only by a walk through their establishment –
the work of hours by the way – can a just idea of its actual operations be
obtained. The list of manufactures which the Works are capable under ordinary
circumstances of turning out, includes, in addition to locomotives and every
description of iron work connected with the construction of railroads, sugar and
saw mills &c., planning machines, ship spikes, chains, iron and brass
castings, portable and stationary steam engines, machinery for plantation
purposes, circular saw plates, carriage axles, and tool and machinery steel of
every shape and size. To the manufacture of cast-steel especial attention has
been given; sine steel furnaces with proper machinery, are employed in this
department, and the work turned out is confidently claimed to be fully equal to
the best English brands for tenacity, soundness and uniformity of temper.
The amount of machinery, forges, mills, &c., required
in the various departments of the Tredegar Works are of course enormous, and
would require, in their hurried description even, more technical knowledge than
we could summon up, and far more space than the demands of the public will
enable us to give. – There are in all about fifteen shops, each one of which
is employed in a distinct branch of the general manufacturing business of the
firm. These comprise: The Rolling Mill, with furnaces for melting and puddling
iron, and pondrous machinery for rolling it into the several requisite forms of
merchantable iron; Spike Factory, for the manufacture of ship and rail road
spikes, about thirty tons of which can be made in the course of one day; Cooper
Shop; the Foundry, where all the castings are made: this department is in three
divisions, the first of which is devoted to heavy castings, inclusive of guns,
&c., the second to rail road, engine, and other castings generally; and the
third to rail road work exclusively. – In the first named division there is
now being arranged for casting a peculiar mould, the name and object of which it
would not be judicious to disclose, being for Government purposes, which will
require about three weeks for its entire casting, and will, when completed,
weigh upwards of 17,000 pounds; Car Wheels; Brass Foundery, where the brass
castings of locomotives, &c., are made. The First Machine Shop, where car
wheels and cannon are bored, turned and rifled; In this shop is an immense
Hydralic Press for forcing the car wheels on the axle, and which possesses a
power of compression equal to two hundred tons; locomotive shop in which
locomotives, mills, engines, and the more delicate machinery generally are all
made. The armory, designed for the manufacture of rifled muskets, but not in
operation; Carpenter shop; Boiler shop; Pattern shop; Cast steel foundry; wheel
and Mill wright shop; and Blacksmith shop. In the latter building, which is 180
feet long, and well supplied with trip hammers for light work, and every
requisite appliance, forty forges are kept constantly employed. The Laboratory,
where shells and grape shot are filled, and other projectiles prepared, is a
separate department called into existence by the exigencies of the times.
There are at present employed in the works about 1,000 men,
who, were they called into service would make a formidable regiment of strong
armed defenders; and for such a service they are fully prepared, for, influenced
by the warlike tendencies of the times, the men, some time ago, organized from
among themselves a full battalion, and elected as their commander, Major Joseph
R. Anderson, one of the proprietors. Procuring arms, they, after some weeks
passed in industrious drilling, tendered their services to the Government
through their commander. The President very judiciously declined the tender,
upon the ground that the Tredegar Volunteers could be of infinitely more service
to the cause they desired to serve, in the work shops than in the field.
Recently Major Anderson has been called to a brigadier generalship in the
provisional army of the Confederacy, and the battalion are temporarily without a
commander. They preserve, however, their regular organization, and drill with
assiduous care once a week. From their ranks a guard is nightly detailed, and
the establishment placed under strict military surveillance. The latter
precaution has been rendered necessary by the attempt to destroy these all
important works, which have twice been made by Yankee emissaries in our midst,
and, which attempts were, fortunately for our cause, twice frustrated by the
vigilance of some of our employees in the works.
The supply of anthracite coal having been cut off by the
blockade, Messrs. Anderson & Co. are about to resort to the use of coke,
which material is wholly used in England for manufacturing purposes. A large
furnace for the purpose of converting bituminous coal into coke has been
erected, and is now ready for active operations. The coke, when made, will be
mixed with anthracite coal, a quantity of which the firm have managed to retain.
– The supply of earth for moulding purposes has also been cut off, but the
demand is fully met by an abundance of the requisite article procured in the
immediate vicinity of his city. It was formerly obtained from Troy, New York.
The dealings of Messrs. Anderson & Co. with the North, before the
interruption of commercial intercourse between the two sections, amounted
annually to about $400,000 – nearly half a million of dollars – all of which
enormous revenue has, we trust, been now lost to Yankeedom forever. Among the
articles for which we relied wholly upon the North was boiler or plate iron, and
already its manufacture, in ample quantities, has been achieved by Messrs.
Anderson & Co. The firm are now supplying the Government with large
quantities of excellent plate iron. The purpose to which it is applied will be
ascertained through Yankee sources sooner or later.
The Tredegar Iron Works, it remains only to say, are
operated wholly by water power, from the inexhaustable and unrivalled sources of
the noble James river.
The following gentlemen comprise the firm of Anderson &
Co.: Joseph R. Anderson, Robert Archer, John F. Tanner, Robert S. Archer. The
officers of the Works are as follows: Alexander Delaney, Superintendent; Edward
R. Archer, Assistant Superintendent; P. S. Derbyshire, Foreman of the Foundry;
John Morfitt, of Machine Shop; J. W. Hercus, of Setting-up Shop; J. W. Curtis,
of Finishing Shop; William H. Leach, of Blacksmith Shop; John Reid, of Pattern
Shop; Thomas Hays, of Boiler Shop; and Guido Weis, of Carpenter Shop.
