Tredegar Iron Works: Richmond’s Foundry on the James

Book excerpt: One of the most important industrial landmarks in the nation lies in the heart of historic Richmond. The Tredegar Iron Works was the most prodigious ordnance supplier to the Confederacy during the Civil War, as well as an industrial behemoth in its own right. Named for the hometown of the Welsh engineers who built it, Tredegar remained one of Richmond's chief industrial entities for over a century. It produced ordnance during five wars and helped build the railroads that rapidly spread across the nation during the Gilded Age. Author Nathan Vernon Madison, utilizing a wealth of primary sources and firsthand accounts, chronicles the full history of a Richmond industrial icon.