Aug. 4, 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Let's Learn From the Past: The Civil War in Pittsburgh" by Lisa Dundon.
No battles were fought in Pittsburgh, but it did serve as the "Arsenal of the Union." It was also a major transportation hub with its three rivers and railroad lines.
The Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville produced a vast array of leather goods and millions of cartridges for Union guns. They built the first lead bullet-making machine and the arsenal superintendent, Thomas Jackson Rodman invented a new casting technique that allowed for the creation of the world' largest cannons (named Rodman Guns), including one that fire a massive 20-inch shell.
The Fort Pitt Foundry produced nearly 1,200 guns (I'm supposing cannons) which accounted for nearly 60% of the Union's guns.
A total of some 26,000 men served in the military from Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Several thousand of whom were killed in battle, mortally wounded or died of disease.
In 1864, a Sanitary Fair was held to raise money to benefit the wounded.
Now, You Know. --Old Secesh
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