How did the supply-poor Confederate army obtain sulpher for gunpowder manufacture?

Deximaru

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Feb 26, 2014
It is my understanding that, given the severe shortage of supplies, the Confederate army used bat guano to procure potassium nitrate (saltpetre), before mixing it with charcoal and sulphur, to create gunpowder. However, I cannot find anything that explains how they procured sulphur, given that sulphur mining did not occur in the South until after the Civil War ended (e.g. from Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana). Did they have external supplies, say from South America (which has sulphur rich volcanoes), or did they source sulphur earlier from somewhere more local somehow?
 
It is my understanding that, given the severe shortage of supplies, the Confederate army used bat guano to procure potassium nitrate (saltpetre), before mixing it with charcoal and sulphur, to create gunpowder. However, I cannot find anything that explains how they procured sulphur, given that sulphur mining did not occur in the South until after the Civil War ended (e.g. from Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana). Did they have external supplies, say from South America (which has sulphur rich volcanoes), or did they source sulphur earlier from somewhere more local somehow?
Welcome to the forums.
 
Welcome to the Forums!

Forget the bat, er, guano, though. The South had more saltpeter available to it than the North did. The latter had to buy and import it from Europe. Sulfur occurs in nature in many forms - not sure that was a problem, either. Gunpowder turned out to be the last of the Confederacy's worries.
 
Welcome to the Forums!

Forget the bat, er, guano, though. The South had more saltpeter available to it than the North did. The latter had to buy and import it from Europe. Sulfur occurs in nature in many forms - not sure that was a problem, either. Gunpowder turned out to be the last of the Confederacy's worries.
TRANSPORTATION of said powder WAS a problem!

Kevin Dally
 
During the Civil War gunpowder was very scare in the Confederacy. And after resorting every means to
makeup the shortage. The authorities hit upon the idea of urine as a source of supply.
According, the following advertisement ran in the Alabama Sentinel Selma, Alabama:
"The ladies of Selma are respectfully requested to preserve all their chamber lye collected about their premises
for the purpose of making Nitre. Wagons with barrels will be sent around to gather up the lotion“
Signed,
Jonathan Haralson,
Agent Nitre and Mining Bureau.
Confederate States Army
 
"The ladies of Selma are respectfully requested to preserve all their chamber lye collected about their premises
for the purpose of making Nitre. Wagons with barrels will be sent around to gather up the lotion“

LOL! I've seen even more unpleasant requests, very early in the war. Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter) was found quickly in mines in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and elsewhere pretty early in the war, though. Dignity restored. :smile:
 
In the early days of the war the Confederacy relied upon a quantity purchased in Philadelphia just before the war, imports of about 130 tons for the Louisiana sugar refineries and low grade deposits also in Louisiana. This carried them over until iron pyrite processing in Georgia began production. I don't doubt blockade runners futher contributed to the supply.

Confederate Brigadier General George Washington Rains wrote a short publication titled History of the Confederate Powder Works describing the history and operations of the Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia. A link to the publication follows, it's an interesting read. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24537/24537-h/24537-h.htm
 
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In the early days of the war the Confederacy relied upon a quantity purchased in Philadelphia just before the war

From your link:

"The earth of the limestone caves of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and other States, was rich in nitrate of lime, and this salt was convertible into saltpetre by lixiviation and saturating with the lye of wood ashes. Some of these caves were personally visited, and great efforts made to have them worked to full capacity."
 
SALT PETER CAVES
During the Civil War, one of the Greenbrier Valley’s greatest contributions was saltpeter which is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Saltpeter, archaically spelled “salt petre,” is a nitrate mineral found naturally in local caves. In Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties, 28 caves have been discovered that contain definite evidence of saltpeter mining. Saltpeter was obtained by filling wooden hoppers with the “peter-dirt” and leeching water through the dirt. The water would come out of the hopper and be collected to boil down with lye to convert the cave nitre into true saltpeter or potassium nitrate. Gunpowder was made by mixing 75% true saltpeter, 15% sulphur, and 10% charcoal.

http://greenbrierhistorical.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/the-civil-war-in-greenbrier-county-an-overview/
 
In the early days of the war the Confederacy relied upon a quantity purchased in Philadelphia just before the war, imports of about 130 tons for the Louisiana sugar refineries and low grade deposits also in Louisiana. This carried them over until iron pyrite processing in Georgia began production. I don't doubt blockade runners futher contributed to the supply.

Confederate Brigadier General George Washington Rains wrote a short publication titled History of the Confederate Powder Works describing the history and operations of the Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia. A link to the publication follows, it's an interesting read. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24537/24537-h/24537-h.htm

This is a great answer, thank you. Exactly what I was after. I was not aware that sulphur could be smelted (if that's the right word) from iron pyrite. I did a bit of reading and found that "Confederates obtained sulphur by ptocessing iron pyrites (FeS) with nitric acid to release sulphur."

Now to find where nitric acid was acquired from!

Source: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=... sulphur from iron pyrite confederate&f=false
 
During the Civil War gunpowder was very scare in the Confederacy.

I don't think so. The Wikipedia article about the Confederate Powderworks at Augusta, GA says that the Confederate Powderworks at Augusta was the second largest gunpowdering manufacturing facility in the world, and that the Confederate Powderworks at Augusta produced 3.5 tons of gunpowder per day. It is said that the Confederacy never lost a battle due to lack of gunpowder.

And after resorting every means to
makeup the shortage. The authorities hit upon the idea of urine as a source of supply.
According, the following advertisement ran in the Alabama Sentinel Selma, Alabama:
"The ladies of Selma are respectfully requested to preserve all their chamber lye collected about their premises
for the purpose of making Nitre. Wagons with barrels will be sent around to gather up the lotion“
Signed,
Jonathan Haralson,
Agent Nitre and Mining Bureau.
Confederate States Army

Your quote says that the Confederacy used urine to make Nitre. Is Nitre just another word for saltpeter? If not, what is Nitre?
 
Your quote says that the Confederacy used urine to make Nitre. Is Nitre just another word for saltpeter? If not, what is Nitre?

Not my quote, but yes, Nitre is another term for saltpeter. They really didn't have to resort to urine to make it, the stuff was pretty abundant in the South.
 
From your link:

"The earth of the limestone caves of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and other States, was rich in nitrate of lime, and this salt was convertible into saltpetre by lixiviation and saturating with the lye of wood ashes. Some of these caves were personally visited, and great efforts made to have them worked to full capacity."

What is lixiviation?
 
What is lixiviation?


http://www.lenntech.com/chemistry/lixiviation.htm


Lixiviation: Inorganic Chemistry for Industries

Lixiviation is the process of separating soluble from insoluble substances by dissolving the former in water or some other solvent.
The mixture of substances is put into a suitable vessel, the solvent poured over it, and the whole allowed to stand until a strong solution is obtained, which is then drawn off from the residue. This process is repeated as often as necessary, until the desired amount of soluble matter has been removed. Sometimes the mixture is put into baskets, or on gratings, which are suspended in tanks of water. The solution being denser than the solvent, sinks to the bottom as it forms, and water comparatively free from dissolved material is thus constantly brought into contact with the substance to be lixiviated. The insoluble substance remains on the grating or in the baskets.
When desired, the soluble material may be recovered from the solution by evaporation or precipitation. Extraction is the term usually employed when some solvent other than water is used in lixiviating. Thus we speak of extraction by steam, alcohol, carbon disulphide, etc.


***The above information on chemistry subjects is as they were described in the past centuries.
 
Drew, you seem to have all the answers. Can you tell me how the South acquired the Nitric acid to process iron pyrites to make Sulphur?
 
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