The North Carolina Mason

Page 14 The North Carolina Mason January/February 2019 From the Grand Historian's Courier's Case By Ludwik J. Wodka Grand Historian At the outset of the Civil War, the Confederate States quickly seized several of the key Federal arsenals located in the South. Although a sizeable quantity of rifles and some cannons were taken, it wasn't nearly enough to mount a proper defense against Union forces; in fact, muni- tions were in greater need than men. North Carolina Gov. John Willis Ellis began looking for anyone who possessed the requisite knowledge to manufacture gunpowder but discov- ered that this skill set was surpris- ingly rare. However, two enterprising Raleigh Masons rose to the chal- lenge. George B. Waterhouse and Michael Bowes operated a firm that installed gas works in several North Carolina and South Carolina towns, and in 1858, they established the Raleigh Gas Works, providing gas lighting throughout the city. George Benjamin Waterhouse, was born Jan. 22, 1828, in Webster, Mass. He was made a Master Mason in Diamond #29, Diamond Springs, Calif., in 1855, and a Royal Arch Mason in Eldorado Royal Arch Chapter 4, located in the same town. He came to North Carolina a few years later, settled in Raleigh and affiliated with Hiram #40 and Raleigh Royal Arch Chapter 10. Michael Bowes was born Jan. 1, 1824, in Port de Grave, Newfound- land, Canada, and moved to Raleigh in 1858. He came to the city to help build the Raleigh Gas Work for the Raleigh Gas Company. He, too, became a member of Raleigh Chapter 10, and of Hiram #40. Both men approached Governor Ellis, and even though they did not actually know how to make gunpowder, they managed to convince the governor of their abili- ties through their confidence and energy. Granted $10,000 in state funding to proceed with the project, they engaged local builder William J. Hicks, another Raleigh Mason, to construct the powder mills. ey chose a location on Crabtree Creek a few miles north of the city to erect eight buildings which would be run by water power. Waterhouse and Bowes began fitting out their operation with the purchase of a tobacco press from Richmond, repurposed to press raw powder into sheets. At first, supplies of sulfur, potassium nitrate, and saltpeter were not readily available, forcing the company to scrounge around the state for it. While this was under way, both Waterhouse and Bowes proceeded to educate themselves on the manufacture of gunpowder by reading chemistry books. Manufacturing gunpowder was an extremely hazardous process. Local resident Joel Whitaker recalled that these mills were a "deadly, dangerous place," and how "the workers removed their shoes before entering the factory lest a nail or tack should spark a fire and blow them up." In spite of these precautions, an explosion occurred in the granu- lating apartment on June 9, 1862, igniting approximately 2,000 pounds of powder, killing four employees and destroying the building. Waterhouse and Bowes moved their operation to the location of Elihu Sater's paper mill, which was at one time was the site of a colo- nial-era mill owned by Isaac Hunter, and would later become Whitaker's Mill. Another explosion took place in the drying house of this new powder mill on Oct.23, 1863. Even though the building and machinery were destroyed, no one died in this accident. On Feb. 23, 1864, yet another explosion took place. e Raleigh Progress reported, "e building was destroyed but no one was hurt. e accident will not stop the mills and the damage will be repaired in a few days." A fourth explosion occurred on April 5, 1864, in which one man was killed and left George Waterhouse with a broken leg. Even though the powder mills suffered these setbacks, they still succeeded it producing an average of 1,600 pounds of gunpowder per day. Tons of powder were sent to supply General Lee's armies in Northern Virginia (as well as the Battle of Gettysburg). In his later years, Michael Bowes recalled that this plant supplied the powder to arm the ironclad CSS Virginia (formerly known as the USS Merrimack) in its famous duel against the Monitor off Hampton Roads in March 1862. (An excerpt for History of the Scot- tish Rite Valley of Raleigh) Masons behind Raleigh's Gunpowder Mill George Waterhouse e deadline to apply for the 2019 Hinton James Masonic Scholarship, endowed by Lux Libertas #772 to benefit UNC students, must submit an application by March 15. is $1,000 scholarship rewards a senior planning to attend UNC and who has demon- strated academic achievement and community service. e recipient will be chosen by the Lux Libertas Scholarship Committee. Hinton James was the University of North Carolina's first student. He became a promi- nent Mason in the Wilmington area. His family keeps his memory alive — Charles Barrett is James' great-great-great-great-great grandson. Applicants must have a minimum cumula- tive GPA of 3.0, or the equivalent average under the school's grading system, and be enrolled in an accredited North Carolina high school. e scholarship committee will consider factors including scholastic achievement, participation in extracurricular and civic activities, involvement in the community and personal recommendations. Other requirements are available by linking to https://bit.ly/2TdMTvo, or surf to the latest headlines on the North Carolina Masonic Foundation's home page at www.mfnc.org. Recipients will be informed of their award on or about May 1, 2019. Deadline looms for Hinton James Scholarship for UNC students

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