Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-06-01
A GREENVILIE LANDMARK.
Old Warehouse that Served Confcd-
cracy AS ArmOry.
(Greenville News, 25th.)

warehouse on the west side or the
Ri"er bridge to give place, perhaps,
to more pretentious structure, in
keeping with the progressive spirit
of our people. recalls to memory the
use for which this building was orig
inally erected. and will carry many
old residents back to the period at
the outbreak Of the Civil War.
1t was after hostilitics had begun.
The State authorities. seeing the
necessity for place where arms
and munitions of war could be man
ufactured, as there was at that time
no government armory devoted to
that purpose in the South, decided to
establish plant for that purpose in
Greenville, and commission was ap-
pointed to procure site and erect
suitable buildings.
The late Vardry McBee, who was
large land owner in the city and sub
urbs at that time, gave the State the
use Of several acres Of land on which
about twelve very large and substan-
tial buildings were erected. These
buildings were built Of the very best
material. which at that time was
abundant. under the supervision of
David Lopez. OF Charleston. who was
a master builder. Mr.. Lopez after
wards became general superintendent
of the works. and when he resigned
b | a of hD
appointed.
The different departments Of work
were under charge OF a master me
chanic. and the departments were
and caisson were made. The wheels
were made by the firm of Cover, Cox
& Markley; and there was also a
foundry. where cannon and field
pieces were cast, and in this depart
ment grape shot and bomb shells
were made. to be sent to Richmond
to be loaded and primed, and from
. there distributed where needed.
The brass foundry, the new gun
! work shop and the repair shops were
all large buildings. the old warehouse
being a part Of the repair shop. In
this shop were unloaded almost week
ly car loads OF guns captured and
picked up on the battlefields OF Vir-
ginia and the West.
These guns were OF every size and
make and were broken, twisted and
! torn in every imaginable way. Some
had bayonets smeared with the life
blood OF a victim of that strife, 9TH
ers with the stocks split and brok en-
and with patches Of human hair and
/ gore still sticking thereon.
| . Immediately on the arrival OF a
coNgO of broken up material all hands
were put TO work to assort out the
best parts and reject the useless, and
! they would then proceed to rebuild
! as many good guns as they could get
out OF the debris. and send them back
I to Richmond, which was the general
! distributing point.
After being in charge OF the State
government for only few months.
or until the Confederate government
+ was formed, the latter government
took charge, and men skilled in
! gun-making and kindred industries
were detailed and sent here from
every part Of the South, every State
| in the COnfcderacy being represented
! by several workmen.
AT first only mechanics from this
/ State were employed, but after the
! increase OF working force workmen
| from other States came. There were
, at least three hundred men employed.
many Of them being negro mechanics
and laborers.
/ No great efforts were made to man
/ II: tcturc new guns, except a special
I cavalry carbinc. which was the inven-
| ton OF Col. Morse, Of New Orleans.
! This was a very superior cavalry or
! short breach-loading carbMe, which
! its inventor spent a long time in per-
! fccting. though not great many
/ were made, as after hostilitics began
TO rage violently it took the whole
/ time o! the shops to repair and place
in condition the captured guns from
the enemy
About the best and easiest way the
Southern army had OF procuring
| guns, by the way, was to take them
from the Union army, in one way or
another, and pick them up on the
baltlcficlds.
Many OF the men employed at the
gun works brought their families