Charlotte's Involvement in the War

From the August 31, 2012, Charlotte (NC) Observer "Charlotte put men, ships, gunpowder into Civil War" by Sam Shapiro.

A review of Michael C. Hardy's new book, "Civil War Charlotte: Last Capital of the Confederacy."

Charlotte was fortunate in having been spared the havoc of fighting, but it was completely involved in the war effort.  Even so, in the waning days of the war, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County were on high alert with Sherman's Army heading its way, but it turned toward Wilmington. 

Then, on April 19th, with the Confederacy in its death throes, Stoneman's Raiders got as far as the Catawba River before withdrawing.

Charlotte became a major strategic point because of its railroads.  By 1862, supplies, machinery and troops were streaming through town.   The railroad accessibility caused the Confederate government to establish a navy yard in what today is the First Ward.  Shipbuilding became a primary Charlotte industry.

Also located in the city were industries supplying the war machine: the Sulphuric Acid Works, Mecklenburg Iron Works and North Carolina Powder Manufacturing Company.

All this caused Charlotte's population to grow.

On April 19, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet along with the Confederate Treasury arrive in Charlotte.  Today, a marker on Tryon Street shows where Davis stood when he received news of Lincoln's assassination.  Seven days later, Davis and his cabinet met for the last time at the William Phifer home on North Tryon Street.

A Navy Yard That Far From the Coast?  --Old Secesh