Josiah Gorgas

Josiah Gorgas (July 1, 1818 – May 15, 1883) was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama.

Josiah Gorgas
BornJuly 1, 1818
near Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, US
DiedMay 15, 1883(1883-05-15) (aged 64)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US
AllegianceUnited States
Confederate States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Confederate States Army
Years of service1841–1861 (USA)
1861–1865 (CSA)
RankCaptain (USA)
Brigadier general (CSA)
Battles/warsMexican–American War
American Civil War
Alma materWest Point
Spouse(s)Amelia Gayle Gorgas
ChildrenWilliam C. Gorgas
Other workUniversity president

As chief of ordnance during the American Civil War, Gorgas managed to keep the Confederate armies well supplied with weapons and ammunition, despite the Union blockade, and even though the South had hardly any munitions industry before the war began. In this effort he also worked closely with the Fraser, Trenholm shipping company that brought in shipments of ordnance by means of blockade runners. He kept diaries during the Civil War which are now a popular subject of study for historians.

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