Born July 1, 1818
Daupin County, Pennsylvania
Died May 18, 1883
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Chief of Confederate Ordnance Bureau

Supervised production of weapons and
ammunition for the Confederate Army

"Gorgas proved to be a genius at organization and improvisation. He almost literally turned plowshares into swords."

Josiah Gorgas. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

Historian James M. McPherson

General Josiah Gorgas was one of the Confederacy's most valuable officers during the American Civil War. Born in the North, he sided with the South at the war's outset. For the next four years, he supervised the Southern effort to provide its soldiers with the weapons and ammunition that they needed in the conflict. He faced many obstacles during this period, from shortages of raw materials to the huge Union naval blockade of Confederate ports. Despite these difficulties, however, Gorgas did a remarkable job of producing and delivering weaponry to rebel (Confederate) troops...