{⋆★⋆} BG ARTY Gorgas, Josiah

Josiah Gorgas
:CSA1stNat:
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Born: July 1, 1818

Birthplace: Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Father: Joseph Gorgas 1770 – 1841
(Buried: Center Church of the Brethern Cemetery, Louisville, Ohio)​

Mother: Sophia Atkinson 1778 – 1849
(Buried: Massillon City Cemetery, Massillon, Ohio)​

Wife: Amelia Ross Gayle 1826 – 1913
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​

Married: December 29, 1853 in Toulminville, Alabama

Children:

Major General William Crawford Gorgas 1854 – 1920​
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​
Jessie Gorgas 1856 – 1925​
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​
Mary Gayle Gorgas 1857 – 1944​
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​
Minnie Gorgas Palfrey 1859 – 1953​
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​
Maria Bayne Gorgas 1861 – 1953​
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​
Captain Richard Haynsworth Gorgas 1864 – 1935​
(Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama)​

Education:

1841: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (6th in class)​

Occupation before War:

1841 – 1847: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army, Ordnance Dept.​
1841 – 1843: Ordnance Officer for Watervliet Arsenal, New York​
1843 – 1844: Ordnance Officer at Detroit Arsenal in Michigan​
1844 – 1845: Ordnance Officer for Watervliet Arsenal New York​
1847 – 1855: 1st Lt. United States Army, Ordnance Dept.​
1847: Served in the Siege of Vera Cruz, Mexico
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1847 – 1848: in Charge of Ordnance at Depot at Vera Cruz​
1848 – 1851: Assistant Ordnance Officer, Watervliet Arsenal​
1851: Assistant Ordnance Officer at Allegheny Arsenal​
1851 – 1853: Assistant Ordnance Officer at Fort Monroe Arsenal​
1853 – 1856: Commander of Mount Vernon Arsenal, Alabama​
1855 – 1861: Captain United States Army, Ordnance Dept.​
1856 – 1858: Commander of Kennebec Arsenal, Maine​
1858 – 1860: Commander of Charleston Arsenal, South Carolina​
1860 – 1861: Commander of Frankford Arsenal, Pennsylvania​
1860: Member of United States Army Ordnance Board​
1861: Resigned from United States Army on April 3rd

Civil War Career:

1861 – 1865: Confederate Chief of Ordnance for the Confederacy​
Took an interest in blockade Running​
Bought five blockade – runners that had some success​
Created the Confederate Ordnance Department out of nothing
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1864 – 1865: Brigadier General in the Confederate Army​
Created gunpowder mill in Augusta Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia​
Found Alternative Sources of Saltpeter​

Occupation after War:

1866 – 1868: Manager of iron works at Brierfield Furnace​
1868 – 1878: Vice Chancellor University of the South​
1878 – 1883: President University of Alabama​

Died:
May 15, 1883

Place of Death: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Age at time of Death: 65 years old

Cause of Death: Deteriorated health

Burial Place: Evergreen Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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Even though he was amazingly successful in keeping the armies relatively well equipped and supplied Gorgas realized that the best source of munitions was abroad. This is probably one of the reasons for his interest in blockade runners.
 
I've never heard or read this before but there is a book called "Civil War Diary" and It appears to be written by Josiah Gorgas. One can't judge a book by it's cover but this does seem like an interesting book.

This is a very good and very interesting book. However, as a daily record of his activities, it lacks any "big picture" perspective. Also, Gorgas himself was kind of a colorless military bureaucrat, so you won't find any startling personal insights, or deep-dark Confederate secrets revealed.

Publication of his Diary helped to burnish Gorgas' reputation, which remains quite high among those who are educated in Confederate logistics and related industrial issues. An annotated re-publication of his diaries would be welcome now (at least by me!).
 
This is a very good and very interesting book. However, as a daily record of his activities, it lacks any "big picture" perspective. Also, Gorgas himself was kind of a colorless military bureaucrat, so you won't find any startling personal insights, or deep-dark Confederate secrets revealed.

Publication of his Diary helped to burnish Gorgas' reputation, which remains quite high among those who are educated in Confederate logistics and related industrial issues. An annotated re-publication of his diaries would be welcome now (at least by me!).
Is it a big book?
 
Is it a big book?

No. I borrowed a copy of the 1947 edition from the public libray (Thank you, Enoch Pratt!) and I remember it as quick read. Definitely not one of the 800-page doorstoppers that seem so popular these days. Amazon counts the 1947 edition at 208 pages.
 
Josiah Gorgas' son, William Crawford Gorgas served as Surgeon General of the U.S. Army from 1914 - 1918. He is primarily remembered for his efforts to control yellow fever in Cuba and Panama (during the building of the Panama Canal).
 
Josiah Gorgas' son, William Crawford Gorgas served as Surgeon General of the U.S. Army from 1914 - 1918. He is primarily remembered for his efforts to control yellow fever in Cuba and Panama (during the building of the Panama Canal).
Primarily Panama and Cuba , but he did do some research and work in Florida as well. On further reading about him it sounds like he was a dyed-in-the-wool Socialist too.
 
That Brierfield Furnace that he bought interest in after the war was located near Ashby, Alabama.This is the same furnace that supplied The Confederate Naval Ordance Works in Selma during the war.
 
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