Louis Froelich and Company
The “Sword Maker for the Confederacy,” Louis Froelich moved his company (formerly known as the CSA Arms Factory) to Kenansville, North Carolina after a yellow epidemic epidemic struck Wilmington in 1862. The factory produced numerous swords, utensils, and sabers for the Confederacy’s fighting forces.In the fall of 1862, the company started operations and supplied necessary arms for the Confederate States Army. During the American Civil War, the company produced various products: eighteen surgical sets, 3,700 lance spears, 6,500 saber bayonets, 11,700 cavalry sabers, 2,700 officer’s sabers, 600 naval cutlasses, 800 artillery cutlasses, 300 saber belts, and 300 knapsacks.
In an 1863 report, Union Major General John G. Foster and Lt. Col George W. Lewis more than likely referred to the Louis Froelich and Company. They reported that Union forces destroyed an armory containing approximately 2,500 sabres and various other weapons and equipment.
Today, Franklin Fussell established the CSA Sword Factory Foundation to preserve this part of Duplin County's history.
Sources:
CSA Sword Factory Foundation, “History” http://www.csaofkenansville.org/ (accessed December 7, 2008).
See Also:
Related Categories: Civil War, Business and Industry, EntrepreneurshipRelated Encyclopedia Entries: John W. Ellis (1820-1862), Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, Secession, Salem Brass Band, Confederate States Navy (in North Carolina), United States Navy (Civil War activity), James Iredell Waddell (1824-1886), CSS Neuse, USS Underwriter, Warren Winslow (1810-1862), Prelude to the Battle of Averasboro, The Battle of Averasboro-Day One, Louis Froelich (1817-1873), North Carolina Button Factory, CSA Arms Factory, Ratification Debates, Peace Party (American Civil War), Braxton Bragg (1817-1876), Daniel Harvey Hill (1821-1889), Battle of Bentonville, Bryan Grimes (1828-1880), Fort Hatteras, Fort Fisher, Fort Clark, Fort Macon, Daniel Russell (1845-1908), The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, Union League, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Levi Coffin (1798 – 1877), Raleigh E. Colston (1825 - 1896)
Related Commentary: Toward an Inclusive History of the Civil War: Society and the Home Front, Edward Bonekemper on the Cowardice of General McClellan
Related Lesson Plans: Discussion of the Lunsford Lane Narrative
Timeline: 1836-1865
Region: Coastal Plain