Civil War Iron and the H.L. Hunley Iron Ballast

At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, the Union greatly outpaced the Confederacy in industrial manufacturing capabilities. The Confederacy's economy prior to the conflict was largely based on agriculture, and the Southern states lacked the facilities and skilled labourers to produce iron on the scale necessary to compete with the Union. The possibility of importing products was greatly diminished when President Lincoln instituted a naval blockade around major Southern ports, limiting the amount of cargo that could be imported from Europe. Consequently, the Confederacy was forced to adapt ironworks to wartime purposes. Despite these adaptations, the Confederacy suffered from iron shortages throughout the war. This paper uses the iron ballast found on the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley as a case study for the manufacturing processes, labour relationships and social significance of iron production and usage in the Confederacy.