The Augusta Arsenal was a 19th-century fortification in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. Established in 1816 and initially completed on the Georgia bank of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

in 1819, it was moved to the former Belle Vue estate in the Summerville neighborhood of Augusta in 1827 due to health concerns after several fever epidemics.

Early history

The Belle Vue estate was established by George and Eliza Talbot Walker. It was the birthplace of their granddaughter,

Octavia Walton Le Vert Octavia Walton Le VertAlso sometimes spelled LeVert or Levert (August 11, 1811 – March 12, 1877), née Octavia Celestia Valentine Walton, was an American socialite and writer. She became one of the first female Southern writers to achieve nati ...

in 1811. George later sold Belle Vue to his brother,

Freeman Walker Freeman Walker (October 25, 1780September 23, 1827) was a United States senator from Georgia. Born in Charles City, Virginia, he attended the common schools; in 1797, he moved to Augusta, Georgia. Walker studied law, and was admitted to the ba ...

, for use as a summer estate. Freeman Walker sold the property, with the exception of one acre that contained the Walker Family Cemetery, to the United States government for $6,000 in 1826. The arsenal was moved to the new location the following year, with four large brick buildings connected by a twenty-two inch thick wall completed in 1829. Troops from the arsenal took part in various campaigns involving the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

, and

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

tribes and took part in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

Civil War

Following the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

of Georgia from the Union, then governor, Joseph E. Brown, visited the arsenal on January 23, 1861, and demanded that the commander,

Arnold Elzey Arnold Elzey Jones Jr. (December 18, 1816 – February 21, 1871), known for much of his life simply as Arnold Elzey, was a soldier in both the United States Army and the Confederate Army, serving as a major general in the American Civil War. At ...

surrender the facility to the state. Elzey initially refused. 600 citizens of Augusta then volunteered for

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

duty based on rumors that the state was going to take the arsenal from Elzey and his small contingent of 82 soldiers. Brown gave Elzey a second chance to surrender the facility, demanding an answer by 9 o'clock the next morning. After notifying his superiors of the situation via telegraph, Elzey turned the arsenal over to the state the next day. By summer 1861, the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Chief of Ordnance,

Josiah Gorgas Josiah Gorgas (July 1, 1818 – May 15, 1883) was the head of the Confederate States of America Ordance Bureau in the American Civil War, responsible for procuring weapons and ammunition for the Confederate armies; he was a brigadier general at ...

, determined to greatly expand the arsenal around the original nucleus. His plans included building a "great arsenal of construction where ammunition, field and siege artillery projectiles and ordnance stores in general

ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...

be made in large quantities." April 1862 saw the arsenal placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Rains. He was also put in charge of erecting the enormous

Confederate Powderworks The Confederate Powderworks, also known as the Augusta Powder Works, was a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War. It is one of the only permanent structures completed by the Confederate States of America that wasn't destroyed by Union f ...

, which he placed at the 1816 arsenal site. The arsenal produced large quantities of

war materiel War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

from 1863 to 1865. The arsenal was under threat in November 1864 during Sherman's March to the Sea, with equipment prepared for evacuation until the Union Army turned toward

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. In the end, the arsenal was surrendered back to Federal control when Union troops entered Augusta on May 3, 1865. The Augusta Arsenal is still the home to three Confederate "12-pounder Napoleon" cannons. Two of the cannons are displayed at the front and rear of Payne Hall, which is the original arsenal headquarters building, and a third is displayed outside the original arsenal guardhouse. The arsenal guardhouse was erected in 1866 to guard the entrance to the arsenal. In 2004 it was converted to a small museum that displays dozens of artifacts, photographs, and various items uncovered during archeological excavations of the area. The arsenal military cemetery, adjacent to the Walker Family cemetery, houses the graves of forty-eight soldiers, twelve women, and ten children, along with a few unidentified graves, dating back to 1841.

Later history

The arsenal was a valuable asset for the war effort during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. It manufactured various types of equipment and served as a supply and repair point. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the arsenal served as a center for the repair of

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

. Following minimum staffing after close of World War I,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

saw activity at the site increase enormously, with the construction of roughly fifty new buildings. Primary activities were directed at maintenance and supply of weapons and ammunition, with over 1000 people working at the arsenal. The arsenal remained in operation until 1955, at which point the decision was made to close it. Most of the property was given to the Georgia Board of Education. It was converted into the Junior College of Augusta in 1957. The name was changed to Augusta College in 1958, and later as Augusta State University. In 2012, Augusta State University merged with Georgia Health Sciences University to become Georgia Regents University. After much public and alumni discontent, the school was renamed

Augusta University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens, Geo ...

in 2015. The arsenal commandant's house, one of the original four arsenal buildings, is now known as the Stephen Vincent Benét House. It was designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on November 11, 1971. Noted poet and novelist

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

lived here when his father, Colonel James Walker Benét commanded the Augusta Arsenal from 1911 to 1919. The house later served as the President's House of Augusta College.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Augusta Arsenal
The Augusta Arsenal in the Civil War
Buildings and structures in Augusta, Georgia Augusta metropolitan area Forts in Georgia (U.S. state) United States Army arsenals during World War II