Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/663

Rh Cruz and was subsequently in charge of the ordnance depot at that point. On the return of peace he served as assistant ordnance officer at various arsenals until placed in command of Mt. Vernon arsenal, Alabama, in 1853. In December of that year he was married to the daughter of ex-Governor Gayle, of Mobile. He was promoted captain in 1855, transferred to Kennebec (Maine) arsenal in 1856, commanded the Charleston (S. C.) arsenal until 1860, and was then transferred to Pennsylvania. In the latter year he served as a member of the ordnance board. Resigning in April, 1861, he removed with his family to Alabama, and received from President Davis the appointment of chief of ordnance of the Confederate States, then &quot;the most important scientific and administrative office in the government." Fully appreciating the great poverty of the South in this department, he promptly sent an efficient officer to Europe to procure arms, located arsenals, and made immediate preparation for the manufacture of powder and saltpeter, and the development of lead and copper mines, also preparing elaborate papers showing the proper distribution of heavy armament for effective defense against invasion. At an early date he insisted upon the use of cotton and tobacco to procure military supplies, and arranged for an effective service by blockade runners. Out of his suggestion and practical action grew the bureau of foreign supplies and the mining and nitre bureau. He displayed remarkable ability in the selection of officials for the work under his control, and impressed all those brought into intercourse with him, as an executive officer of remarkable energy and ability, though his modesty rendered him little known to the general public. &quot; He created the ordnance department out of nothing, was the brief and comprehensive verdict of General J. E. Johnston. After the practical dissolution of the Confederate government at Charlotte, N. C., in the spring of 1865, he returned to Alabama, and promptly turned his activity