Organ
Cave played a significant role during the American Civil War, as the cave is an
abundant source of saltpetre, one of the most important minerals sought after by
armies on both sides of this conflict. Saltpetre (potassium nitrate) is the
primary ingredient in black powder and its raw form (calcium nitrate) can be
seen glittering on the walls and floor of the cave. Confederate soldiers,
working under the direction of General Robert E. Lee, found that Organ Cave was
not only an excellent place to extract this valuable mineral, but also realized
that the cave was a suitable facility in which to further refine the saltpetre
into a form suitable for the powder mills of Augusta, Georgia.
Visitors
today can learn first hand how the soldiers processed, by hand, this nitre while
walking the very trails used by the soldiers and observing the large collection
of equipment left behind by the Confederates. Along with the mining, the
Confederates used the cave as a gigantic church; visitors will appreciate the
natural acoustics inside the appropriately named, “Chapel Room” that easily
housed the 1100 Confederates. Organ Cave is a living museum of America’s
heritage. Visitors only need witness the massive underground chapel used by
Confederate soldiers, observe the markings and carvings left by these men and
even smell and see the smoke left behind on the cave ceilings over 140 years ago
to understand that Organ Cave is much more than a textbook, it is history alive
and vibrant.
Although
the Civil War hoppers compose the majority of our hopper collection, several
older hoppers remaining from the War of 1812 lie just off the mainstream passage
through the cave, and these hoppers can be seen on numerous of the Extended
Exploring Expeditions we offer today.
Within
the depths of Organ Cave lies the Hopper Room, a well-preserved refinery
built by Confederate soldiers at the beginning of the American Civil
War. Built of hardwoods, hoppers are large vats that held the nitrate
rich soil mined by the soldiers inside the cave. Each hopper was filled
with over 2 tons of mined rock and soil, then men poured water over the
soil, leaching the minerals from the earth and carrying into troughs
placed beneath the hoppers. This water was then filtered and evaporated
to leave behind saltpetre suitable for gunpowder production. A simple
but laborious process, hoppers were used to refine saltpeter in the soil
into the snow-white crystals needed for making black powder. The Hopper
Room contains 37 of the original 52 saltpetre hoppers built by the
Confederates.
Organ
Cave played a significant role during the American Civil War, as the cave is an
abundant source of saltpetre, one of the most important minerals sought after by
armies on both sides of this conflict. Saltpetre (potassium nitrate) is the
primary ingredient in black powder and its raw form (calcium nitrate) can be
seen glittering on the walls and floor of the cave. Confederate soldiers,
working under the direction of General Robert E. Lee, found that Organ Cave was
not only an excellent place to extract this valuable mineral, but also realized
that the cave was a suitable facility in which to further refine the saltpetre
into a form suitable for the powder mills of Augusta, Georgia.
Visitors
today can learn first hand how the soldiers processed, by hand, this nitre while
walking the very trails used by the soldiers and observing the large collection
of equipment left behind by the Confederates. Along with the mining, the
Confederates used the cave as a gigantic church; visitors will appreciate the
natural acoustics inside the appropriately named, “Chapel Room” that easily
housed the 1100 Confederates. Organ Cave is a living museum of America’s
heritage. Visitors only need witness the massive underground chapel used by
Confederate soldiers, observe the markings and carvings left by these men and
even smell and see the smoke left behind on the cave ceilings over 140 years ago
to understand that Organ Cave is much more than a textbook, it is history alive
and vibrant.
Although
the Civil War hoppers compose the majority of our hopper collection, several
older hoppers remaining from the War of 1812 lie just off the mainstream passage
through the cave, and these hoppers can be seen on numerous of the Extended
Exploring Expeditions we offer today.
