Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-11-23
THE BELLoNA FOUNDRY.

the right or southern bank of the James river,
about twelve miles To the west of Richmond,
and short distance above Boshcr> Dam.
through the slack water of which there is now
communication between the Foundry and the
James River and kanawha Canal The slack
water, or pool" of this Dam, which crosses
the river at the head of the Falls, extends II
! great distance above the Foundry. and this part
Of the Canal is known as the "Lay-lcvel -
! This Foundry was erected by William Writ and
Major John Clark, the grandfather Of DR. Ju
MUS l.. Archer, the present proprietor, in lSl'.
There were ut that time, only two other gun
foundries in the Union, which were respective
", Kemble's, at West Point, and Gen'l MaSonS,
the father of Senator Mason, at Gcorgctown.-
The latter has since gone down. There are
, now but five gun-ioundreS Of this character in
the United States, which enjoy the patronage
of the Government The oldest is kcmbles,
at West Point; and the next, is l)r. Archcrs
Bellona Foundry. The remaining three are, j.
R. Andcrson's Trcdcgar Foundry. at Richmond;
Algicr'>, at Boston; and one. ut PittSburs.
The best guns have been turned out from the
two Virginia foundricS, and made Of our noun
tain iron. \ thorough knowledge Of metals,
and u long experience in manufacturing are
as essential to the production Of good guns, as
those qualities are to the profit and success Of
the founder.
The Government only encourages u safe COM
petition, and prefers giving its contracts 10 old
and long-tricd FoundricS. Every lot Of guns
is subject 10 severe trials. and upon certain
number failing, the whole lot is rejected Thus
the business is hazardous one To the incXpc-
rienccd. and consequently not eagerly sought
after. 1t would also he impolitic as it would
be unsafe To patronzc establishments in which
We could not put the greatest confidence for
integrity as well aS experience. since the lives
Of our gunnerS depend on the strength and du
i1lbility Of our guns. There is. also, a great
difference in the value Of suns-a perfect gun,
properly made will 20 through service without
Il blcniSh. and still, if required, he fiji for use
while another, to all appearances equally us
good, might fail in the very hour Of need
Five hundred rounds is generally considered
the ordinary service of Il Suu. though they are
frequently required, in cases Of necessity, 10
stand more We were shown ninc-inch
Dahlgren gun. made at the Bellona Foundry.
which had stood over l2Up rounds, and APP
pcarcd none the worse, and the Doctor thinks
il would still stand as many more We have
charge Of those large guns, for the first fire, is
Ii pounds Of DupontS cannon powder with
solid, shot lO3 pounds in weight, and the rest
consist Of ~ pounds Of powder frequently
doube-Shotted Some thousands Of gins have
been made during the last IN years at this
foundry. exclusively from orr mountain iron,
which has proved superior to that obtained
from any other quarter.
The metal from number of furnaces about
the head waters Of the James River. some of
which are still in operation, though many
have gone down, has been used here for guns
gcncrally-thc convenience for obtaining which,
since the completion Of the Canal beyond the
Blue Ridge, has been greater than from any
other part in Virginia. At present. however.
Dr. Archer is using David Graham's iron, from
the New River. which is brought from Max
meadows 10 Lynchburs by the Virginia and
Tennessee Railroad. and from thence TO the
foundry by canal This iron has been in use
for the last thirty years, and sustanS the best
reputation. Col Morgan, Of the Pcnctentiary,
recently made Il specimen rifle from David Gra.
hams iron, which is not only an elegant piece
of Workmanship, but is capable of sustaining
a great strain, and Of covering long rangc.-
The coal use,l at the I'elona at present is from
the Midlothian mines. which DIR. Archer says
is splendid article for the purpose Of gun
making-superior probably to that from any
other coal field known; and at one time every
gun foundry in the Union used the coal from
those mines. The coal. however, from most of
the deep mines here, answers the same purpose,
since its general character is much the same.
The Bcllona Foundry, may be observed by
Mr.. De Bows new map Of the Richmond coal
field, is situated on the eastern edge Of It's
outcrops, and consequently the coal pits are
within few hundred yards Of the furnace
doors. Some years ago, pit worked by
Mr.. Tinlcy, on the south bank Of the James
River. and near the foundry. produced splcn-
did article of fuel. and was used by Mayor
Clark. the founder of Bcllona. in preference to
any other. This pit is on the property Of Mr..
T. NJ. Burfoot, and is not now in opcration,-
An almost unlimited quantity of coal may yet
be obtained from this portion "f the coal fcld'
not onlv for the purpose of sun-naklnS. but
for the smelling Of ir"", the generation "t
steam and gaS, and many other purposes.
Some excellent iron ores are also found here.
which NAV eventually be put to good pur-
pose. in connection with the coal and our noun
tain ores; both of whch-iron ores and COAL
have been sadly neglected by our people Here
also we find great quantity Of .Hre rIy'
which has been made ,lSc of. with the great
est success, at Belona. for the production oi
the fire brick used at the foundry They have
been proved superior to the fire brick brought
from the North, at an enormous cost.
We know Of no place equal to this, in every
point of view for the erection Of. fnrn""'S ~"'
chine shops or fopndrits-and upon an impair
tial consideration of NIL the connecting circulll-
stances, any practical man would conclude up
on thi, location as the best nnd most advanta-
1eo,,s site fora NATIONAL FOUNDRY. which. III
f,rt. was the original design when Congress
determined by an enactment, to locate the L.
5. Arsenal here. In 1916, one year after the
erection of the foundry. the L. :. ARSENAL now
generally known as the Garrison. was conf