Confederate Powderworks The Confederate Powderworks ( aka the Augusta Powderworks ) was a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War , the only permanent structures completed by the Confederate States of America . Colonel G . W . Rains chose the old United States Arsenal site between the Canal and Savannah River in Augusta , Georgia as a secure inland location with good rail and water connections . History . Rains , a West Point graduate and chemistry teacher there who had resigned to become president of an iron works in Newburgh New York , chose allegiance to his native North Carolina and was put in charge of the Gunpowder and Niter Bureau by Jefferson Davis . Construction began in September 1861 , a 130 hp steam engine was purchased from the Atlanta flour mill owned by Richard Peters and the Powderworks was producing gunpowder in just 7 months in 1862 . Rains was guided by a pamphlet written by a British artilley officer describing the powder works at Waltham Abbey in Essex County near London , and also found someone who had worked there to advise him . Customary for gunpowder mills , the buildings were separated and designed to survive explosions , with raw materials starting at one end , refined and ground with 5 - ton wheels , and the finished powder loaded a mile and a half down the line . The saltpeter refinery building was the largest , and was designed in Gothic style as a replica of the British Houses of Parliament . The Confederate Powderworks was the 2nd largest gunpowder factory in the world at that time during the 19th century , producing 3 . 5 tons a day . More than 2 , 750 , 000 pounds of first - quality gunpowder ( a majority of the powder used by the Confederacy ) , was produced here before its closure on April 18 , 1865 . It has been said the Confederacy never lost a battle for lack of powder . Although the massive works were seized and dismantled after the war ended , the commandant , Colonel G . W . Rains , asked in 1872 , that the Obelisk Chimney be spared as he had designed it to " . . . remain a monument to the Confederacy should the Powderworks pass away " . On June 2 , 1879 the city of Augusta gave custody of the Chimney to the Confederate Survivors Association of Augusta to " beautify it and protect it from injury as a Confederate Memorial " . The CSA of Augusta repaired the square castellated base , protected the corners and in the face , looking towards the canal inserted a large tablet of Italian marble , bearing this inscription : " This Obelisk Chimney — sole remnant of the extensive Powder Works here erected under the auspices of the Confederate Government — is by the Confederate Survivors ' Association of Augusta , with the consent of the City Council , conserved in Honor of a fallen Nation , and inscribed to the memory of those who died in the Southern Armies during the War Between the States " . Today . The 150 foot Powderworks chimney still stands on the Augusta Canal and is one of the more recognizable features of the Augusta skyline today , located at the Sibley Mill at 1717 Goodrich Street in Augusta . The Sibley cotton mill was built on the site as a private venture in 1880 - 82 , using bricks from the demolished powder works , and became one of the largest and most successful cotton mills in the region , a model of good management and worker relations . It manufactured denim until 2006 , and the mill ' s water - driven turbines still generate electricity which is sold to Georgia Power . The chimney is the only remaining portion of the original Works . The B / G E . Porter Alexander Camp # 158 , Sons of Confederate Veterans , spent 8 years raising $ 192 , 000 to restore the chimney with its historical marker ; work started on November 19 , 2009 and was completed on March 12 , 2010 . A rededication ceremony was held on Oct . 9 , 2010 .