Site Visit Saturday: Saltville, Virginia

   The town of Saltville, in Smyth County, Virginia, has a deep and interesting history, one that I’m sure we will be re-visiting in the future. Saltville was the site of an ancient salt lake, and the salt deposits have drawn people for thousands of years. Salt was a requirement, especially for preserving meat, required by every Southern family prior to war, and while there were natural salt deposits, like those at Saltville, the United States imported 12,000,000 bushels annually. The blockade shut off the overseas markets, and Southerners turned increasingly to the ocean, artesian wells, and inland salt lakes.

   Salt had been mined in Saltville since at least 1773. By 1860, most of the property was owned or leased by Stuart, Buchanan, and Company. The salt, produced by boiling the water, was some of the best in the United States. Naturally, when the Federal blockade made it difficult to import salt, the natural deposits became even more important. The problem with the salt works at Saltville was the location, in the Appalachian Mountains. Once the salt was produced, it had to be transported several miles through the mountains to the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad for transportation. After September 1863, that line seldom ran south of the Watauga Depot in Carter County, Tennessee. Running north was not a problem until the train reached Lynchburg or Petersburg. There, the bags of salt had to be unloaded and reloaded due to different railroad gauges. 

Salt making display in Saltville 

   The Confederate States, and various other states, leased property from Stuart, Buchanan, and Company to manufacture salt. North Carolina began operations in June 1862, negotiating for kettles, salt pans, and bricks for the kiln. Slaves were brought in from Warren County, and osnaburg cloth from Randolph County was brought to produce bags, By July 1863, the North Carolina works at Saltville had manufactured 106,000 bushels of salt, shipping 86,000 pounds back. In many cases, the salt was delivered to the railroad depots where the salt agents for various counties would arrive with wagons to transport the commodity back to their respective areas. In Alabama, the fourteen northern counties in the state were supplied with salt from Saltville. The facilities struggled with obtaining enough wood and workers. At one point in 1864, the men from North Carolina working in Saltville were all conscripted into Confederate service.

   There were several attempts by the Federals to shut down the operations in Saltville. The first battle of Saltville occurred October 2, 1864 and was a Federal defeat. The second battle of Saltville occurred December 20-21, 1864, and was successful. However, the works were again operational before the end of the war. (These raids deserve their own post.)

   Part of the site is preserved by the American Battlefield Trust. There are a couple of good books on salt and the war, including Ella Lonn’s Salt as a Factor in the Confederacy (1965). I have visited Saltville several times over the years. My last visit was in July 2019. There are a couple of Civil War Trails markers, along with a display showing how the salt was produced.

Quakers and Salt

   No discussion about salt and the War is complete without some mentions of the Quakers, Moravians, and Wesleyan Methodists in central North Carolina.

   All of these were religious sects that were pacifist in their beliefs. They believed that war and violence were wrong, and refused to serve in the Confederate army when the war came. This of course, created a problem when the Confederate government passed the Conscription Act in early 1862. The Convention Committee adopted a resolution early in May 1862 that exempted the Quakers. It read: "That members in good standing in the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, who shall produce a regular certificate of membership, shall be exempt from performing militia duty and military service: Provided, That as an equivalent for such exemption from military service, when called for by the proper authorities, they shall pay sums of one hundred dollars, to be collected by the Sheriffs of the several counties, as the other State taxes are collected, to be for paid into the State Treasury for the general purposes thereof, and in case they shall be unable to pay the same, the governor shall have power to detain them to assist in the manufacture of salt or to attend in the hospitals in the State." (The Raleigh Register May 31, 1862)

   In October of that year, the government enacted a $500 exemption fee. If a Quaker paid this fee, he was exempt from military service. Some Quakers paid, some did not. Some refused to pay the exemption tax, believing it was "the price exacted of us for religious liberty." By the end of the war, the superintendent of the Bureau of Conscription reported that 342 men from North Carolina had been exempted as conscientious objectors. The aforementioned John M. Worth, state salt agent, allowed Quakers to work at the state salt works near Wilmington, according to William A. Auman.

   Quakers were originally told that there was little danger while working at the salt works, and that the sea breezes were healthy. Anyone who has spent time in the Wilmington area in the summer knows that it can actually be very stifling hot, and at dark, the mosquitoes and sand fleas are unbearable.

   Records of individual Quakers are scattered. Calvin G. Perkins of Kinston made salt in New Bern until he was captured. J. M. Prevo worked at the state salt works in Wilmington. James Newlin, Abner Lamb, and Nathan Pearson reportedly worked in the salt works. Michael Cox, Thomas Hinshaw, Amos Hinshaw, and Clarkson Allen were also assigned to salt-making duty. Each chose instead to pay someone else fifteen dollars to take his place. Clarkson Allen and Amos Hinshaw then escaped to the west.

   There were many opposed to the Quakers and their not being in the army. General William Whiting, in charge of the defenses around Wilmington, complained in July 1864 to the Confederacy’s  Secretary of War:

   I have at length positive information that at least two thirds of the Conscripts at the State Salt works, belong to the treasonable organization called "H. O. A." [Heroes of America] Their mode of communicating with the Enemy has been ascertained... I recommend strongly that the whole force be turned over to the Conscript Camp for distribution in the Army and their places be supplied by free negro or slave labor. (Salt, That Necessary Article, 143)

   The State salt works in Wilmington employed somewhere around 250 men in 1864.

   There is undoubtedly more to learn about this subject. I feel that this short piece has just scratched the surface. (Or maybe I've exhausted it, who knows?) For sources, I examined:
William, Isabel M. and Leora H. McEachern Salt: That Necessary Article (1973)

Auman, William T. Civil War in the North Carolina Quaker Belt (2014)

Zuber, Richard L. "Conscientious Objectors in the Confederacy: The Quakers of North Carolina." Quaker History, vol. 67, Issue 1 (1978)

Cartland, Fernando G. Southern Heroes or, the Friends in War Time. (1895)

Salt

This week, I am writing about the Shelton Laurel Massacre. Traditionally, this story starts with the Unionist-leaning Shelton Laurel people being refused salt from the government for their personal use. This led a group to break into some type of government facility in Marshall and take salt. As with most stories, there is a whole lot more to this one, but that's another post.

Arguably, salt was the most important commodity to rural people across the United States. While it had many uses, the most important would be to preserve hog meat for future use. It took 10 pounds of salt to preserve 100 pounds of pork. If you are feeding a large family, 100 pounds does not go far.

Prior to the war, North Carolina salt came from the coastal area, and from Saltville, Virginia, and appears to be a private venture.

Realizing the importance of salt, North Carolina took steps in late 1861 to ensure domestic supply. On December 6, the North Carolina Convention ratified "An Ordinance in Regards to the Supply of Salt." The state pledged at least $100,000 to the manufacture of salt on the along the coast. At the same time, the article stated that Dr. John Milton Worth, brother to future governor Jonathan Worth, was appointed North Carolina Salt Commissioner.

Salt Raid in Florida

An article in the Semi-Weekly Standard, December 18, 1861, made note of "private parties" making salt on Currituck Sound, Bouge Sound, Topsail Sound, in Carolina City, and soon, near Morehead City. It was the editor's suggestion that "farmers should not be hasty in killing pork this season."

The state government set up salt works at in Currituck County but they were lost when Roanoke Island fell in February 1862. There were salt works at Morehead City as well. After the place fell to Union forces in March 1862, the government salt works were moved to Wilmington. In August 1863, the Wilmington Salt Works produced five thousand bushels of salt. The state also chartered the Chatham Salt Mining and Manufacturing Company in 1862. The plans for the Chatham County site were to drill a well. Also in 1862, Governor Clark sent Nicholas Woodfin and George W. Mordecia to Saltville, Virginia, with instructions to negotiate a contract to purchase cast iron pots and enough brine to produce 300,000 bushels of salt per year.

Each county appointed a salt agent. In 1862, the Buncombce County salt agent was John A. Burin. In Forsyth County, E. A. Vogler; T. G. Whitaker, Wake County; W. S. Gunter, Chatham County;

At least in Buncombe, the county was divided into sub-districts, with a sub-agent responsible for the distribution of salt. They were supposed to sell the salt to citizens at cost. It must have been a thankless job. After the war, a citizen in Yancey County complained that they had four different salt agents over the duration of the war.

There were numerous raids and assaults against North Carolina's salt-making industries during the war years. In October 1862, Federals destroyed the salt works at Bogue and Currituck Inlet. In February 1863, the salt works at Wale's Head, Currituck Beach, were destroyed. On Christmas Eve 1863, portions of the 158th New York Infantry and 9th Vermont Infantry, with sailors from the USS Daylight  and Howquah, moved against salt works near Bear Inlet. On April 21, 1864, Federal forces raided the salt works at Masonboro Inlet, near Wilmington.

Probably better known are the raids taking place against Saltville, Virginia, one taking place in October 1864, and another that same December.

The raid on Marshall in January 1863 was supposedly because local residents, who were not pro-Confederate were not getting salt. I wonder, was this Confederate policy, state policy, or simply the policy of the local salt agent in charge of Madison County?