Second Creek Cave confederate niter works

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SECOND CREEK CAVE
CONFEDERATE NITER WORKS
Marion O. Smith

Haynes Cave, a half mile south of Second Creek in the northernmost part of Monroe County,
West Virginia, was heavily mined for saltpeter during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Over
2,000 feet long, multi-leveled, and very dry, it contains several walkways still as sound as the day
they were constructed, and probably the best surviving wooden winch in any United States saltpeter
cave.!

The current owner is NSS 19586, Frederick V.H. Grady of Virginia, but perhaps the first man
to hold title was Frederick Gromer. Beginning about 1788, Gromer operated a powder mill on
Second Creek and no doubt used Haynes Cave as a source for the necessary saltpeter. It is now
believed that this cave, instead of Organ Cave, is the true site of the discovery of the giant ground
sloth, Megalonyx jeffersoni, described by Thomas Jefferson in 1799. These bones were found before
mid-1796 by laborers "digging the floor" of a cave belonging to Gromer in Greenbrier, later Monroe
County.”

During the Civil War Haynes Cave was known as Second Creek Cave. It was a Confederate
government leaching facility within the boundaries of Nitre District No. 4. Virtually all the factual
information about the mining endeavor here is derived from pay vouchers and payrolls captured at
the end of the war and now housed at the National Archives. These records reveal no specifics about
the cave, but do provide names of some men who worked there, along with the kinds of activities
in which they were engaged. Unfortunately, no letters have been found highlighting daily routines
or details about the personalities of the men involved. Therefore, it is impossible to bring "life" to
the story.

The Confederates mined Second Creek Cave from at least late February 1862 until January
1864. The operation was begun under the auspices of the Ordnance Department and from May 1862
was continued by the Nitre Bureau. Payrolls encompassing August 1862 through January 1863 have
survived. During this time the work force ranged per pay period from fourteen to eighteen men
totaling twenty-six individuals. Most were residents of either Greenbrier or Monroe Counties.
However, two free blacks from other places were utilized a couple of months.°

The first superintendent or foreman was Charles G. Taylor, from February 20 through May
13, 1862, at $100 a month, a wage higher than later paid. On February 24, while still in Richmond,
he received a $1,000 advance "to be expended in working Second Creek Saltpetre works." He then
went to the cave to begin development. But by May 10 he was back in Richmond with a load of
saltpeter and ready "to settle his cash account."*

Under Taylor’s tenure as foreman, the only other known laborer was John F. Coffman, who
during March and April 1862 chopped wood at eighty cents a day. In May, probably in behalf of
the Nitre Bureau, Nathan P. Rodgers performed six and a fourth days’ toil at the cave at a per diem
of ninety cents.°

The regular August 1862-January 1863 employees were: Madison S. Connell, foreman; N.
B. Plunklett, John A. Rittenhouse, and Charles A. Shanklin, chief boilers; Burwell Morgan, Andrew
Irons, Albert Hoke, Patrick Dwire, Michael Hickey, James M. Coffman, John F. Coffman, and J. N.
Dolan, cave laborers; H. B. Morgan, night boiler; Joel Morgan, Turner Morgan, Alexander Boon,
and George Boon, woodchoppers; John Welch, Noah Morgan, and Jonah Morgan, shed workers; N.
P. Rodgers and William H. Lynch, wagoners; and E. F. Patton, A. L. Dunsmore, George Hill, and

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Allen Hill, the latter two free blacks, unspecified hands. The pay scale was foreman, sixty dollars

oe month; chief boiler, one to one and two-thirds dollars per day; night boiler, one to one dollar
twenty-five cents a day; and all others a dollar a day except half that for Michael Hickey, a boy, and
sixty cents a day for the free blacks. Plunklett, from August 20 through September 1862, was the
chief boiler at one and two-thirds dollars a day. However, the then superintendent of Nitre District
No. 4, Frederick N. Read, discharged him because he "thot $50 too high to pay for a boiler."®

Additional labor in or near the cave was performed by A. Tolbert, July 1-12, 1862, and James
L. Lynch, October 22, 1862, at the rate of a dollar and twenty-five cents a day. Lynch for sure and
probably both were hired as temporary carpenters. Louisa County, Virginia, residents, W.H.H. Trice
and his brother, George W. Trice, Jr., were respectively foreman, April-September 1863, and
assistant foreman, June-July 1863.’

Regular employee Nathan P. Rodgers of Greenbrier County, in addition to his daily wage
of a dollar, was paid three to four dollars a day for the periodic use of his wagon and two horse team.
Local men, not on the payrolls, were also hired for hauling. These included Robert Burditt, Andrew
W. Lynch, James M. Nickell, and Washington Lemons (b. c/838), a Wolf Creek, Monroe County,
farmer. The daily rate doubled from three to six dollars. In mid-1863, Nickell supplied "one yoke
of oxen & cart" four days at four dollars. On three occasions, between August 1862 and January
1864, Lemons, for a total of 109% days, hauled at the rate of four to six dollars a day. Hauling at
Second Creek Cave, like all saltpeter operations, included "Dirt, wood, ashes & other material."*

The vast majority of the workers at Haynes Cave were local, but men from Virginia were
there too, including undoubtedly the free blacks. To one extent or another most of these individuals

have been identified:

Alexander (b. c1826) and George Boon (b. c1824) were Greenbrier farmers. 1860
Census, Va., Greenbrier, Lewisburg P.O., 95, 148.

James M. Coffman (February 1844-October 6, 1884) of Greenbrier was afterwards
a laborer at Mann’s Cave-Greenbrier River April 1863-March 1864. Larry G. Shuck,
Greenbrier County Death Records 1853-1901 (Athens, Ga., 1993), 53; Confederate
Payrolls.

John F. Coffman (c1840-f11870), a Greenbrier farm worker, April 1863-March 1864
was employed at the Pickaway Plains Old Houses saltpeter leaching facility in Monroe
County. He was paroled at Lewisburg April 25, 1865, as a private, Company B, 4" Virginia
Nitre Battalion. CSRs, Nitre and Mining Bureau, Roll 111, John F. Coffman File; 1870
Census, W. Va., Greenbrier, Fort Spring Twp., Lewisburg P.O., 3.

Madison S. Connell (c1839-February 18, 1899) before the war was a Richmond
book salesman. From May 1861 until mid-1862 he was a private in Company D, 27"
Virginia Infantry, CSA. He became sick and was probably detailed to the Nitre Bureau
although late in 1862 he was dropped as a deserter. After service at Second Creek Cave he
was foreman April 1863-March 1864 at Greenbrier River or Mann’s Cave government
saltpeter works. On August 1, 1864, he enlisted in Bryan’s Battery, CSA, and was paroled
in Charleston, West Virginia, May 1865. For a while he was a confectioner near
Charlottesville, Virginia, but by 1880 he was a farmer in Monroe County, West Virginia,
near Rocky Point. 1860 Census, Va., Henrico, Richmond, 2™ Ward, 39; (1870), Albemarle,
Fredericksville Parish, Charlottesville P.O., 63; William A. Marsh, comp., 1880 Census of
West Virginia (14 vols., Baltimore, 1979-93), 9: 317; Directory for the City of Richmond
(1860), 71; Lowell Reidenbaugh, 27” Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va., 1993), 136; Union
Monroe Watchman, February 17, 1949.

Isaac N. Dolan/Dolin/Doling (c1834-f11870), a Greenbrier farmer, was for eighteen
days during the October-December 1863 pay period an employee at the Lewisburg Nitre
Works. 1860 Census, Va., Greenbrier, Irish Corner Twp., Lewisburg P.O., 5; Confederate
Payrolls.

Andrew L. Dunsmore was April-December 1863 at Mann’s Cave-Greenbrier River
Nitre Works. Ibid.

Patrick Dwire/Dwyer (b. c1832), an Irish-born day laborer before the war, was a
Greenbrier resident. 1860 Census, Va., Greenbrier, 1 Dist., Lewisburg P.O., 166.

Michael Hickey, Jr. (b. c1848), a Massachusetts native, was a son of Irish parents
who lived in Alleghany County, Virginia. 1860 Census, Va., Alleghany, Covington P.O.,
38.

Allen and George Hill, free blacks, were also employed at Clarks Cave October-
November 1862, and Greenbrier River April-June 1863. Confederate Payrolls.

Albert A. Hoke (b. c1840), a Monroe farmer, was a hand at Pickaway Plains Old
Houses April 1863-March 1864. Ibid.; 1860 Census, Va., Monroe, Peterstown P.O., 175.

Andrew Irons (1822-December 2, 1904), a farmer in the Second Creek District of
Monroe County, later, April 1863-march 1864, was a laborer at Pickaway Plains Old
Houses. Morton, History of Monroe County, 360; Union Monroe Watchman, December 2,
1954.

James L. Lynch (c1827-711906), a Monroe County cabinet maker, served in
Company D, 27" Virginia Infantry, CSA, from May 1861. Wounded in the head at First
Bull Run, by January 1862, he was a nurse in a Winchester hospital. Later he was detailed
to the Nitre Bureau even though his regimental records show that he was dropped as a
deserter. He was carpenter and boiler at Argobrights Cave December 1862; carpenter at
Union Works December 1862-January 1863; and foreman at Pickaway Plains Old Houses
April 1863-March 1864. Reidenbaugh, 27” Virginia, 159; Confederate Payrolls.

William H. Lynch April-June 1863 was a hand at "Mouth Second Creek" which is
assumed to be a government leaching operation using dirt from under old houses.
Confederate Payrolls.

Burwell Morgan (c1823-December 1892), a Greenbrier farmer, worked at
Greenbrier River-Mann’s Cave, April 1863-March 1864. Shuck, Greenbrier Death
Records, 201; 1870 Census, W.Va., Greenbrier, [rish Corner Twp., Lewisburg P.O., 16;
Confederate Payrolls.

Henry B. Morgan was night boiler at Greenbrier River-Mann’s Cave April-
November 1863, and regular hand January-March 1864. Ibid.

Joel Morgan (May 12, 1826-June 9, 1904) was a laborer nineteen and a fourth days
at Mann’s Cave-Greenbrier River during the January-March 1864 quarter. Ibid.; Morgan
Cemetery, Greenbrier County.

Noah Morgan, of Greenbrier, was either Noah Morgan (c1844-July 2, 1875), a son
of A. and S. Morgan, or Noah R. Morgan (March 19, 1839-June 11, 1895), a son of John
and Sarah Morgan. Ibid.; Shuck, Greenbrier Death Records, 202, 203.

Turner J. Morgan (August 21, 1821-November 5, 1895), a Greenbrier farmer, had
served as a private in Company B, 26" Virginia Battalion Infantry, CSA. 1860 Census, Va.,
Greenbrier, 1* Dist., Lewisburg P.O., 158; Morgan Cemetery, Greenbrier County.

Edwin Franklin Patton (March 26, 1826-711883), a farmer near Second Creek in the
Irish Corner District of Greenbrier County, was for a time a member of Company A, 22"
Virginia Cavalry, CSA. Hardesty’s Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia . . . of
Greenbrier, Pocahontas and Monroe Counties, West Virginia (New York: H.H. Hardesty,
1883), Greenbrier 22.

Napoleon B. Plunkett (c1823-f11870), a Greenbrier farmer, after the war moved to
Kanawha County. 1860 Census, Va., Greenbrier, 1* Dist., Lewisburg P.O., 165; (1870),
W.Va., Kanawha, Union Twp., Sissonville P.O., 16.

John A. Rittenhouse (b. c1824), a Monroe miller, was foreman at Clarks Cave
October 15-November 15, 1862; a laborer or wagoner April-December 1863 at Lewisburg;
and a hand at Gap Mills Nitre Works in Monroe County during the January-March 1864 pay
period. 1860 Census, Va., Monroe, Peterstown P.O., 15; Confederate Payrolls.

Charles Alexander Shanklin (January 6, 1834-August 3, 1911), a Monroe carpenter,
was a private in Company D, 27" Virginia Infantry, CSA. He was discharged October 5,
1861, after receiving a hand wound at First Bull Run. On June 1, 1863, he enlisted in
Bryan’s Battery, CSA, and was paroled at Charleston June 19, 1865. In 1900 he was mayor
of the town of Union. Reidenbaugh, 27” Virginia, 174; Union Monroe Watchman,
November 9, 1950.

William H.H. Trice (c1841-f11901) and George W. Trice, Jr. (b. c1838) were sons
of a substantial Louisa County, Virginia, farmer and slave owner. From October 1862
through March and May 1863, as foreman and assistant foreman, they managed the work
of about twenty-eight of their father’s chattels at Organ Cave. It is possible that when they
were subsequently at Second Creek Cave their slaves worked there also, although there is
no direct proof. By late 1863 they were agents in Nitre District 4'4, and in mid-1864 they
were in charge of slaves at California Iron Furnace, Rockbridge County, Virginia. After the
war W.H.H. Trice was a railroad mail route agent before becoming a real estate agent in
Norfolk. 1850 Census, Va., Louisa, 386; (1860), N. Dist., Fredericks Hall P.O., 75; (1870),
Norfolk, Norfolk, 4" Ward, 150; Citizens Papers, Roll 1037, George W. Trice, George W.
Trice, Jr., and W.H.H. Trice Files; Confederate Payrolls; Richmond Daily Dispatch, June
21, 1869; Norfolk directories (1874-1901).

Lighting and other supplies were also obtained locally. Between April 1, 1862, and January
I, 1864, linseed oil was furnished by Nickell and Hutcheson, James M. Nickell, Joseph Dickson
(1813-1877), and Roberts and Company for "use of lamps in caves of 4 Nitre District" or
specifically for Second Creek Cave. The price per gallon rapidly advanced from one dollar to fifteen
or sixteen dollars by mid-1863. In addition, Nickell contributed a few pounds of iron. Ashes were
bought from Robert Burditt and employee George Boon; empty barrels from Matthews, Mayo, and
Company; and forage in the form of oats and hay from hands Dunsmore and Rittenhouse.?

It is not known how much saltpeter was made at Second Creek/Haynes Cave. Possibly it was
the third highest producer in the District, after Centreville/Greenville Saltpeter Cave and Organ
Cave. The only specific amount likely made there were the "530 pounds of Nitre from Monroe
County" which Charles G. Taylor delivered via Lynchburg to Richmond May 10, 1862. By the end
of the third quarter 1864, the 4" District had contributed 42,173 pounds, of which 14,766 pounds
came from government operated caves like Second Creek/Haynes. Between October 1863 and
September 1864, monthly deliveries from the 4" District to the Lynchburg, Virginia, niter refinery
fluctuated from 1,367 pounds in February to 4,667 pounds in August. Periodic invasions of Monroe
and the surrounding counties and fewer private contractors undoubtedly contributed to the lower
production of this district when compared to the other Virginia districts.!°

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SOURCES 7

1. William E. Davies, Caverns of West Virginia (Washington, D.C., 1958), 177-79; Fiary of Marion O. Smith,

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March 26, 1988.

2. Oren F. Morton, A History of Monroe County West Virginia (Staunton, Va., 1916), 276; Thomas Jefferson,
"A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia,"
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 4 (1799), 246-47.

3. Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, RG109 (M346, Rolls 581, 608, 1009), National
Archives, Washington Lemons, Andrew W. Lynch, and Charles G. Taylor Files; Confederate Payrolls, RG109, National
Archives. Codreens taper,

4. -foid:, Roll 1009, Charles G. Taylor File.

5. Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Raised Directly by the Confederate Government, RG109 (M258, Roll
111), National Archives, John F. Coffman File; Citizens Papers, Roll 879, N. P. Rodgers File.

6. Confederate Payrolls; Citizens Papers, Rolls 806, 868, and 920, N. B. Plunklett, John A. Rittenhouse, and
Charles A. Shanklin Files.

7. Ibid., Rolls 609, 1032, and 1037, James L. Lynch, A. Tolbert, and George W. Trice, Jr., and W.H.H. Trice
Files.

8. Ibid., Rolls 120, 581, 608, 742, and 879, Robert Burditt, Washington Lemons, Andrew W. Lynch, James
M. Nickell, and N. P. Rodgers Files; 1870 Census, W.Va., Monroe, Wolf Creek Twp., Wolf Creek P.O., 11.

9. Citizens Papers, Rolls 80, 120, 246, 266, 666, 742, and 870, George Boon, Robert Burditt, Joseph Dickson,
Andrew L. Dunsmore, Matthews, Mayo, and Company, Nickell and Hutcheson, James M. Nickell, and Roberts and
Company Files; Morton, History of Monroe County, 334.

10. War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (70 vols. in 128 books,
Washington, D.C., 1880-1901), series 4, volume 3: 698; Citizens Papers, Rolls 1009 and 1031, Charles G. Taylor and

John R. Todd Files.