Ella Lonn, from Goucher College in Baltimore, was the first woman ever elected president of the Southern Historical Association and author of SALT AS A FACTOR IN THE CONFEDERACY.

” It is only when a prime necessity thrusts itself upon public attention by its absence that a person ceases to take it for granted. Only when he no longer has it, does he realize what an important ingredient for his palate and digestion is plain, ordinary salt, necessary alike for man and beast.” ELLA LONN

"It looked much like mud than salt; but it was salty any  how... And the winter 1862-63 we saved our pork with it. A piece of pork liberally smeared with it had the apearance of being wallowed in mud. But even a new danger confronted us; the supply of of dirt was limited, in fact it was all utilized the first season. So at the dawn of 1863 the prospect of a Salt famine added gravity to the allready grave situation."

MAKE SALT! MAKE SALT!
We have more to fear this fall from a lack of this article than we would from Lincoln's invading hordes. FLORIDA SENTINEL (Tallahassee, July 1, 1862)

Joshua Hoyet Frier II in his reminiscences wrote, "...our army had uniformly been successful on land; we had invariably been worsted where they could get us with those INVULNERABLE MONSTERS..."




Ella Lonn, a Goucher College professor from Baltimore, who wrote the classic book, SALT AS A FACTOR IN THE CONFEDERACY, stated about St. Andrews Bay, “Nowhere perhaps was a greater persistence manifested than in St. Andrews Bay in rebuilding the works so continually destroyed by the Federal fleet. It is difficult to explain whence the Richmond authorities found the means and assembled the materials for this really remarkable feat.”

U.S.S. ALBATROSS

                           U.S.S. WANDERER In November of 1862, the U.S.S. Albatross, the U.S.S. Bohio and the U.S.S. Wanderer conducted a two week salt works raid on St. Andrews Bay, destroying over 350 furnaces with a total capacity of 32,000 gallons. George W. Browne, the commander of the Bohio, was not satisfied. He believed that the U.S. Navy had destroyed only one fourth of the furnaces in service around St. Andrews Bay so he wrote his senator, New Hampshire Senator John P. Hale a letter.

U.S. SENATOR JOHN P. HALE 

Hale's daughter was secretly engaged to John Wilkes Booth and this photo of her was found on Booth after he was killed in northern Virginia. 

January 5, 1863
United States Brig BOHIO
Pensacola Bay, Florida

"...Salt, sir, is the "staff of life" to the Confederates."

"It is the greatest contributor to the support of this gigantic rebellion."

"It is more valuable than powder, food, clothes, or anything else in the Confederacy."

"Every prisoner we took confessed this to be the truth and said we had injured the rebel more by the little we had done than if they had lost a battle."

"They said openly that without salt the rebels could not carry on the war, and told some marvelous stories of its great value even to those in civil life."

"They stated that many men had joined [THE CONFEDERATE ARMY] to buy salt for their families, to be used for pickling fish, curing pork, etc. Salt is worth this day throughout the Southern confederacy from $60 to $70 per bushel, and from $1 to $1.50 per pound, and this is with all their facilities to make it."

"These are facts, and deserve more than a casual consideration, for it goes to prove that the great scarcity of the article, and what the consequences would be if their salt making establishments were destroyed. In my opinion, it would cause such distress among them that speedy overtures would have to be made, or their whole army would perish for the lack of salt."

"By breaking up their salt works I believe in my inmost soul that we would touch a vital part of Rebeldom, and she would fall, never to rise again; for without salt, she cannot exist."

"It is well known that salt can only be manufactured where salt water flows.There are many salt marshes in Rebeldom, but our forces can penetrate, with few exceptions, every place where they are, and can effectually destroy all the works within a short space of time, and with little trouble."

"Our navy has not paid sufficient attention to this increasing supply of salt for our enemies, or it would never have attained such gigantic proportions."

"I would be glad to see a general onslaught made on all the salt works accessible to us in Rebeldom, and would advise strict secrecy, because if the least intimation of our intentions should get in the Confederates' ears they would carry off their kettles and bury them, and we would find the nest warm but the birds flown; and on our departure they would return, replace their kettles and go on as usual."

"This is their game; but it can be easily blocked. Kettles are equally scarce, and worth in proportion to salt in the confederacy, the price ranging from one dollar to two dollars per gallon, according to size."

"Those in use are mostly sugar boilers."

"Steam boilers are also in use, being sawed in two parts. Wooden boilers, lined inside and out with sheet iron are made to answer the purpose also."

"The boilers range in size from twenty-five gallons to five hundred gallons."

"From all I could learn they are sadly in want of kettles."

"Many of their works are defended by guerrillas, whose force does not exceed one hundred men; but the most of them are entirely without defense, save the operators themselves."

"To insure success it would be necessary to scour thoroughly all the bays and creeks of the coast to the very head; for it is at the extremes of these places that the salt business is flourishing, the men feeling quite secure from attack, and with few exceptions this security is complete from any attempts on our part to break them up."

"Commanders of expeditions should be extremely watchful and wary, moving with caution and the utmost celerity when in the vicinity of the intended raids, and on no account to intimate by their movements, if it can possibly be avoided, their intentions, because there are always some individuals on the lookout to warn the salt makers of approaching danger."

"But expeditions starting during the night, so as to be at the scene of action by daylight, would be the most successful. Thus the whole day can be employed to advantage."

Enlargement of a map of Phillips Inlet in the National Archives which was drawn during the December, 1863 salt works raid by the U.S.S. Restless and the U.S.S. Bloomer.

Replica of a salt furnace in Saltville, Virginia

Slaves laboring in salt works 

FUGITIVE SLAVES SEEKING FREEDOM OFF ST. MARKS