10/02/2026
Fun Fact Friday 0ct 2nd 1864 the first battle of Saltville, Virigina. was fought in Smyth County, Virginia, resulting in a Confederate victory to protect vital salt production facilities. Saltville produced up to two-thirds of the salt used by the Confederacy to preserve meat for its armies. When the Union naval blockade cut off British and imports, salt became one of the most critical and scarce commodities in North Carolina and the entire Confederacy. It was desperately needed to preserve meat for armies and civilians, tan leather, and other uses. Major North Carolina salt works locations included. Currituck County & Knotts Island was captured or disrupted by Union forces by early 1863.Morehead City / Carteret County. The state and private entities operated coastal works here starting in 1862, though the largest facilities were burned by Federal raids early in the war. Myrtle Grove Sound & Masonborough Sound (Cape Fear Region): After the northeast coast was compromised, state production anchored in the Wilmington area. Governor Zebulon Vance utilized hundreds of kettles producing thousands of bushels daily at peak operation. On April 21–22, 1864, a combined Union amphibious expedition attacked the vital state and Confederate salt works along Myrtle Grove and Masonborough sounds, destroying roughly one-third to a major portion of the infrastructure. As coastal production crumbled, the Confederacy's salt lifeline shifted heavily toward the inland mountain springs of Saltville, Virginia. The Second Battle of Saltville (December 20–21, 1864) was a decisive Union victory in southwest Virginia that ended with the temporary destruction of the vital Confederate saltworks. (pictured are illustrations of Saltville , VA (Railroad) and the Salt works at Morehead city).
