The Confederate Armory Site, a.k.a. Jones, McElwain and Company Iron Foundry, is a historic site in

Holly Springs, Mississippi Holly Springs is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the southern border of Tennessee. Near the Mississippi Delta, the area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations and was dep ...

, USA. It contains the scant ruins of the foundry built there in 1859, converted to an armory in 1861 by the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, used as a hospital by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in November 1862, and razed by the Confederates a month later.

History

Located in Holly Springs, the county seat of Marshall County, in Northern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

the foundry was established in 1859 as the headquarters of the Jones, McElwain and Company Iron Foundry. The railings the business produced can be seen at the

Hillcrest Cemetery Hillcrest Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1837, it is known as the "Little Arlington of the South." It contains the burials of five Confederate generals. Location The cemetery is locat ...

in Holly Springs as well as in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The foundry also made iron used on slave plantations. The headquarters included several buildings and outbuildings, a foundry chimney, and ponds used as a water source for the foundry. In 1861, at the outset of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

which lasted until 1865, Wallace S. McElwain turned the foundry into an armory for the Confederate States Army. The foundry was commissioned by the government of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

to make 20,000 U.S. Model 1841-designed rifles and 10,000 U.S. Model 1842-designed muskets. They were also commissioned to make 5,000 rifles for the state of Mississippi. No arms bearing the marks of the foundry have been found, it is therefore believed that the foundry was able only to repair and convert existing arms before it was in danger of being overrun after the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

. The equipment was moved to

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

and the weapons on hand were sent to

Grenada, Mississippi Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,092 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County. History ...

. On November 13, 1862, the Union Army invaded Holly Springs, and Union Major Horace R. Witz turned the armory into a hospital for Northern soldiers. It was also used as a storage facility for medical supplies used by Northerners. However, on December 20, 1862, Confederate General

Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) started his military career as a United States Army officer but joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out. He was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict. A g ...

burned down the site. The site remained untouched until 1971.

Heritage significance

It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since April 11, 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederate Armory Site Buildings and structures in Holly Springs, Mississippi Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Foundries in the United States Defunct firearms manufacturers Firearm manufacturers of the United States Confederate States Army 1859 establishments in Mississippi 1862 disestablishments in Mississippi Burned buildings and structures in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Marshall County, Mississippi American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Defunct manufacturing companies based in Mississippi