Where did all the lead come from?

[beagle]

Discussing powder manufacturing during the civil war on another thread led my thought process to this question. Where did all of the lead come from during the civil war?

Now, I know we have lead deposits in Illinois and also along the Mississippi River but the US wasn't industrialized that much at the time of the civil war to produce the quantities needed by both sides to accomodate the ammount of bullets fired and there wasn't any wheel weights. In fact, I'm kinda wondering what lead applications were in use in those days that required lead other than shooting.

One thing about lead, it's always here. It's mined, processed, used and remains with us. Maybe scattered in the ground but still with us.

I'm just wondering why us casters haven't been smart enough to figure out a source to insure a sure supply to our hobby without all the hoopjumps we go through to make boolits./beagle

[Springfield]

We HAVE a sure supply, with Rotometals and the like, but we want it CHEAP. That's the sticking point.

[exile]

Maybe it wasn't as easy to find as you might think. I read somewhere that a general (can't remember his name) appropriated a lady's bathtub for boolits as it was made of lead.

Seems like if you had two competing governments wanting lead, they would both put quite a bit of energy into mining lead. Say what you want about government, but when they want something bad enough, they seem to find a way to get it. I doubt it would be easy for a private individual to mine lead without a significant source of capital.

However, the way things are going in this country, we may soon have to band together to do just that!

exile

[OneSkinnyMass]

At the outbreak of the war, Confederate troops seized the rich Granby lead mines of southwest Missouri, then touted as able to provide all the lead needed for the Confederate cause. In 1861, 75,000 pounds of pig lead a month were being hauled overland to Van Buren (Crawford County), to be shipped to the Memphis, Tennessee, ordnance works. The loss of Missouri to the Union following the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas effectively meant losing this important war materiel source. The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau mined lead and saltpeter (an ingredient in gunpowder) in Newton, Marion, Pulaski, and Sevier counties. However, these operations proved too close to enemy lines and were soon abandoned for more secure sources in Texas.


http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/en...x?entryID=5405
skinny

[jakharath]

I remember as a kid growing up in Arkansas that someone found a few cannon balls in a field. Also remember stumbling on a CSA cemetary.

[letsmeltlead2693]

Lead back then came from lead mines. People dug up galena or PbS and melted the raw ore to make lead.

[popper]

We could mine Gettysburg to get all that lead back. Lead in Texas - we don't even have any gold. Galena, Ks is part of the Ks/Mo/Ar mining area, on the edge of coal fields(1877). Was lots of lead, tin and copper there. Closed in 70, now just a bunch of slag hills. PbS is fools gold.

[letsmeltlead2693]

Lead is worth more than gold to me. Rather have a million tons of lead as to the same value of gold.

[beagle]

I guess that's my point. The cost has been driven up someway as there's no shortage of lead. Yeah, I agree, we're cheap and want it cheap and I guess the EPA regs are driving what's available up and also prohibiting more mining of it. Same way with copper I suspect.

Maybe things will quieten down some after the recession and things will get somewhat back to normal.

The hoarders can only hoard so much but I guess I'm as guilty as the next man as I have a pretty good stash in my barn right now./beagle

[popper]

I'd take the gold and use the lead to protect my stash. Cost of smelting is way up in the US, partially EPA and mostly soccer mom's. They've driven 2 battery recyclers out of town and are working on the last remaining 1. Send all the business to Mexico or pacific rim like we did with asbestos brake pads.

[JIMinPHX]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that back in the 1700s it was common practice to mine a hunk of galena, then put it in a hollowed out stump, then build a fire around the stump, then recover the lead from the ashes, a few hours later. Apparently the burning wood acted as both flux & fuel. I haven't tried it myself though. I would not even know how to identify galena if I saw it.

Next question - where do you find raw tin & raw antimony?

[Hardcast416taylor]

As I have often said about our "wonderful" politico`s in Washington don`t need to enact any more firearm laws - just get the componets and loaded ammo so expensive that nobody can afford them to shoot in their firearms!Robert

[beagle]

Jim...back in the old days when they were using flintlocks and had "beef shoots" for various portions of a beef cow, one of the prizes was the stump that they shot into. The winner burned the stump and recovered the lead. That's how hard it was to get in the pioneer days./beagle

I seem to remember reading somewhere that back in the 1700s it was common practice to mine a hunk of galena, then put it in a hollowed out stump, then build a fire around the stump, then recover the lead from the ashes, a few hours later. Apparently the burning wood acted as both flux & fuel. I haven't tried it myself though. I would not even know how to identify galena if I saw it.

Next question - where do you find raw tin & raw antimony?

[Ervin]

Somewhere I have a football size chunk of galena from southern Mo. I remender some small (1/8 to 1/16") ruby red crystals. The rest looked like lead.
Ervin

[beagle]

Got to think about the task of transporting that much dead weight back in those days. Maybe 1,000 pounds per wagon. Even that task was formidable. Shipping from overseas would have been an equally daunting task and they'd have probably been out prioritied by any muskets and other hard to get items./beagle

At the outbreak of the war, Confederate troops seized the rich Granby lead mines of southwest Missouri, then touted as able to provide all the lead needed for the Confederate cause. In 1861, 75,000 pounds of pig lead a month were being hauled overland to Van Buren (Crawford County), to be shipped to the Memphis, Tennessee, ordnance works. The loss of Missouri to the Union following the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas effectively meant losing this important war materiel source. The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau mined lead and saltpeter (an ingredient in gunpowder) in Newton, Marion, Pulaski, and Sevier counties. However, these operations proved too close to enemy lines and were soon abandoned for more secure sources in Texas.


http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/en...x?entryID=5405
skinny

[frankenfab]

skinny's post prompted me to Google Galena. Some neat pictures here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galena

[felix]

That is all downhill in that article, and some of the hills to these river/rail towns are STEEP! Brakes are mostly the significant item for these wagons. I have no idea what would be reasonable back then besides Budweiser horses tied backwards. ... felix

[Philngruvy]

That is all downhill in that article, and some of the hills to these river/rail towns are STEEP! Brakes are mostly the significant item for these wagons. I have no idea what would be reasonable back then besides Budweiser horses tied backwards. ... felix

Maybe they dragged lead pigs from the back of the wagons to slow them down.

[SlowSmokeN]

I think a time is going to come where we are only going to be able to shoot steel as condors could eat the lead out of the indoor range.

[idahoron]

Are electric and hybred cars using more lead? If so that could raise the price. Ron