"Roswell Gray"

[jwoodli]

I've heard of the fabric factories in Roswell, GA my whole life, and of the thousands of yards of military cloth dubbed "Roswell Gray". This fabric was made by a couple hundred enterprising ladies at the Sweetwater Manufacturing Company until the mill was destroyed Federal troops and the ladies exported to undisclosed locations in Indiana.
I was wondering if there are any examples or GOOD descriptions of what this military cloth looked like, construction, and issuance.
Thanks.

[BobbyHughes]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Mr. Woodliff,

Roswell Georgia had both a woolen mill and a cotton mill.

The New Manchester Manufacturing Company on Sweetwater Creek was a cotton mill with some wool production capacity, but their prime product was cotton fabric (mostly osnaburg) and thread. In 1864 there were some 60 to 70 "operatives" working at the mill, which contained the machinery for cotton production, one set of wool cards, and some machinery for producing rope. The mill was in full production when the 1st KY Cavalry under Col Silas Adams rode into town on July 2; Col Adams shut the mill down, and removed and destroyed the drive belts. On July 7, 1864 Kenner Gerrard, under orders from Gen Sherman, transported the employees of the Roswell mills to Marietta. On July 9, Maj. Haviland Thompkins of the 14th Illinois Cavalry burned the mill and the Company Store/Post Office. The townfolk were given untill 6 pm to report to Ferguson's Bridge, with only what they could carry, or thier houses would be burned. They too were taken to Marietta, and together with the Roswell operatives, were sent to Louisville, KY; There they were given the option of taking the oath of allegiance to the Union and would be allowed to cross into Indiana to work in the mills there (those that did going to Cannelton mills in Cannelton, IN).


Sources:
North Across The River Ruth B. Cook
Research Facility at Sweetwater Creek SP and Mr. D. Emsweller

[jwoodli]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Thank you for clarifying Mr. Hughes. Does anyone have information on the gray woolen military cloth produced by Roswell-area mills other than cotton osnaburgs &c. ?
I'm really just curious...
Thanks.

[Joe Walker]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Hello-

I believe the Ivy Mill at Roswell made the "Roswell Grey", not the Mill out by Sweatwater Creek. I was told it was a dark gray and at one time a uniform at the Atlanta History Center (Atlanta Historical Soceity) had a uniform made of it. One account from a letter states "I have a nice pair of pants made of Roswell cloth with a blue cord down the sides" (Pvt Hodnett, Ga Regt). Lee White, I believe, may shed some light on this.

Joe Walker

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Dylan,

Just to clarify the New Manchester Mills and the Roswell Mills were two separate facilities. Roswell in fact boasted two cotton mills (one established in 1839 and the other in 1852 both operated by the Roswell Manufacturing Company) and the Ivy Woolen Mill. All three of these mills derived their power from Vickerys Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee. New Manchester was located on Sweetwater creek 25-30 miles to the southwest. Both mill complexes were sacked in July 1864 and both can be visited today. There were mills opperating in Roswell as recently as 1975.

The "Roswell Gray" cloth was produced at the Ivy Mills. A description of the 4th Georgia Infantry appears in the Augusta Constitutional and Sentinel in May 1861, which describes the men wearing suits of Roswell manufacture.

The ledger books, on file at the Roswell historical society, indicate the Ivy Mills produced 15,000 yards of wollens a month during 1863-64. The society also has the stockholders meeting information (1847-1900) as well as the company letter book.

A while back I posted some info on the Armory Guards website that may be of assistance to you as well.

Good luck, Garrett

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Joe, you beat me to the clarification. -Garrett

[jwoodli]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Thanks guys.

[csabugler]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

I have a repro kepi that is believed to be made on the formula from the original. The old 37th Geo NSSA rifle team had it made up back in the late 80's or so. I think all the uniform pieces have been worn out by now. It is a striking shade, a subdued ashen gray with a larger dark black cross thread.
The last I heard, the only remaining piece of the original was destroyed several years ago by fire or something. I'll see if I can find any docs on it at home.

[brown]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

The famed Archie Smith greatcoat now in the possession of the Atlanta History Center was made by his mother, Ann Smith. Archibald, Ann's husband, was a sizable stockholder in the Roswell mills (and their home in Roswell still stands). Ann complained repeatedly in letters during the year prior to making Archie's overcoat that the only woolen fabric she could get was "ugly brown jeans." So, it would seem that in the last year or more of production, even a decently well connected civilian was getting any gray woolens from the Ivy Mill. Was that b/c they weren't making it or b/c the production was already spoken for (like by government sources, etc)?

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Lindsey,

If I remember correctly the overcoat was made in the winter of 64. The mills were sacked in July 64 and did not begin production again until 1866. If I am remembering the timeline of the letter/overcoat correctly it would make sense then that all she could obtain was "ugly brown jeans".

[Matthew Semple]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

From my research on the mill, Mr. Silliman is correct, in that the mill was sacked in July '64 and did not begin production of colth again until after the war.

The coat in question was produced in the winter of '64 which would have meant that the cloth available would have been from other means in the community. Tracing the origin of this cloth in that particular jacket has remained a mystery since.

[csabugler]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

What I have is anything but "ugly" but documentation still eludes me.

P.S. Starbuck built the kepi.

[csabugler]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

My wine-soaked memory serves that the mill , which was considrably north of Atlanta at the time, was closed before Atlanta fell.

[brown]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

You are all partly correct on the Smith family. While the greatcoat may be of later construction (although the cape may be earlier), Mrs. Smith's first reference to being unable to find anything but brown jean is 1/8/1864. While this tells you nothing about early war uniforms, the mills in Roswell were still distributing cloth for some time after this letter.

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: "Roswell Gray"

Ah, got ya. According to the company ledger Ivy mills was turning out roughly 15,000 yards a month right up to the time the mill was sacked in July. Accordingly Mrs. Smith was having trouble finding decent cloth at least six months previous. Intersting.

Is the letter that she first mentions the "ugly brown jeans" in the published collection?