By Jeffrey Houser

Houser is the President of the Mecklenburg Genealogical Society.

The history of the Confederate Navy Yard in Charlotte began in 1860 when a foundry was established at the intersection of East Trade Street and the North Carolina Railroad. A majority of the foundry was owned by John Wilkes, a prominent Charlotte citizen. Wilkes planned to purchase full ownership of the foundry, however, the outbreak of the Civil War drastically changed his plans.

North Carolina joined the Confederacy on May 20, 1961. Over the course of the war, almost 125,000 men from North Carolina between the ages of 14 and 49 fought for the Confederate Army—over 80 percent of the male population. Most of the state was spared from significant military campaigns. However, the port city of Wilmington proved to be strategic for commerce with Europe. Many ships sought to run the Union blockade with operations out of Wilmington.

In April 1862, a major battle between two ironclad ships, the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor, took place at Hampton Roads Harbor in Virginia. Although there was no clear winner, the Confederate government realized its naval works in Norfolk were unsafe and Confederate officers searched inland for a suitable location for the naval-related manufacturing work to continue and be sheltered from the Union Army attacks.

Two Confederate officers made their way to Charlotte in late April and met with Wilkes, who had served alongside both men in the US Navy prior to the Civil War. Wilkes showed the officers the foundry as a potential site for the Navy Yard. The site was ideal because of the foundry and a major railroad ran through the property. After the officers reported on the property, the Confederacy quickly purchased the site and in May 1862, equipment from Norfolk was shipped to Charlotte.

Although no actual ships were built at the Charlotte Navy Yard, it served an important role in the war effort by casting gun carriages, munitions, projectiles and other large forgings vital to the Confederate cause. Many of the experienced workers at Norfolk came to the yard but a number of locals were employed there as well, with several hundred men running coke ovens—a process of converting coal into coke to smelt iron— clanging hot iron into various shapes and casting gunshot into small spheres for use in upcoming battles.

When the War ended, the Navy Yard was abandoned and seized by Federal troops after a contingent of the 9th New Jersey Infantry marched into Charlotte on May 7, 1865. It remained dormant until Wilkes was allowed to purchase the property back from the United States government in December 1866 and operated it until he moved the entire operation to his property on West Trade Street in 1875. Wilkes died in July 1908 and two of his sons took over the business. 

The Carolina Central Railway Company bought the original Navy Yard property from the Wilkes and was subsequently owned by the Sea Board Air Line. In April 1910, The Daughters of the American Revolution suggested the original Navy Yard site be marked with a plaque and on June 3, 1910, a tablet marking the Yard’s location was unveiled at the new home of the Mecklenburg Iron Works. Designed by Wilkes’ son, J. Frank Wilkes, the tablet measures about 2 square feet with black and read lettering reading, “Confederate State Navy Yard, 1862- 1865.” Jane Wilkes, wife of the late John Wilkes, assisted in the opening ceremonies.

The EpiCenter complex now covers the entire site where the Yard and other nearby businesses existed. The original tablet from 1910 was replaced by a newer marker in 1955, but was recently removed during various construction projects on East Trade Street. When reinstalled, the plaque will be a small reminder of the role Charlotte played for the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. 

Sources

Eileen Mountjoy, “History of Coke,” Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

David C. Williard, “North Carolina in the Civil War,” From ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NORTH CAROLINA edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher.