Skip to main content

Shelby Iron Company correspondence during the Civil War

 Collection
Identifier: W-0071

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence, contracts, and receipts relating to the production of iron at the Shelby Iron Works from 1863-1865. Notable items include a contract filed by the Confederate government in 1863 and letters written by W. S. McElwain of the Holly Springs Iron Works.

Dates

  • 1863 - 1865

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

None

Biographical / Historical

Founded in the 1840s by Horace Ware, the Shelby Iron Works employed the state's first rolling mill, constructed in 1859, and was one of the first iron companies to use hot blast stoves. During the Civil War, the company produced iron plating for the Confederate Navy, constructing the iron plate used to armor the CSS Tennessee and the CSS Mobile. The company expanded its operations, constructing a second blast furnace in 1863 and experimented with the use of coal instead of charcoal to fuel the furnaces. The iron works ceased operation in 1923.

Sources: Alabama Ironworks Source Book and the Encyclopedia of Alabama

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Correspondence, contracts, and receipts related to the production of iron at the Shelby Iron Works from 1863-1865.

Physical Location

The A. S. Williams III Americana Collection, Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, The University of Alabama

Provenance

Gift of A. S. Williams III, 2010

Related Materials

Robert H. McKenzie dissertation, correspondence, and notes, A.S. Williams III Americana Collection, University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama

Shelby Iron Company records, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University Libraries Division of Special Collections, The University of Alabama.

General

Title on phase box spine: Shelby Iron Works and the Irondale Furnace During the Civil War

Processed by

Haley Aaron and Martha Bace, 2013

Subjects

Related Names

Creator

Source

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to Shelby Iron Works correspondence during the Civil War
Status
Completed
Date
December 2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

https://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/
Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513