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Bluff View in Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Innovation and Disaster

Bluff Furnace and the Coming of War

 
 
Innovation and Disaster Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 16, 2021
1. Innovation and Disaster Marker
Inscription. The conversion of Bluff Furnace into the region's first coke-fired stack, in 1860, was a significant milestone in southern iron production. The failure of the furnace, in November of 1860, occurred as the nation drifted toward the Civil War. The Bluff Furnace would never be fired again.

Northern ironmasters James Henderson and Giles Edward arrived in Chattanooga in 1859, and converted the charcoal-fed furnace into a more advanced coke-fired operation with a sophisticated cupola-style blast stack. Recycling the heat from waste gases to preheat the fresh blast air, Bluff Furnace could more efficiently smelt iron ore. The use of processed coal or coke as fuel permitted larger quantities of ore to be smelted at a faster rate, thus producing cheaper, more competitive iron.

This introduction of the latest technology to the Southern Appalachians was not without difficulties. Obtaining the blast fuel, coke, could not keep pace with production. After a trial blast took place in May 1860, a second blast in November of that year ended abruptly; a failure of the hearth lining put the plant out of operation.

Before repairs could be made, the American Civil War had begun.

As Union troops threatened Chattanooga, the furnace machinery was removed and sent south into Alabama. In 1863 the directors of the East Tennessee
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Iron Manufacturing Company dissolved the enterprise permanently.

In June 1863, Union troops occupied Chattanooga, crossing the river on pontoon bridges that landed below the bluff. After defeat at Chickamauga, the Federal forces were besieged until their successes in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge in November.

As the Federal armies prepared to advance on the Confederate stronghold of Atlanta, Chattanooga was transformed into a marshaling yard for men and materiel. To meet construction needs of the Federal quartermasters, building supplies were collected in vast quantities until, supplied by river and rail, storehouses were overflowing.

The lower remnant of the stack of Bluff Furnace was used as a retort in which limestone was burned to produce lime. The stone walls of the casting shed of the furnace were thrown down, and a wooden shed was built to hold supplies and mule teams. Only the base of the blast stack remained. Soon, even this remnant was demolished and its iron scrapped. By the end of the war, nothing remained above ground of the South's first coke-fired blast furnace.

Captions
[Left] 1860 photograph of the Bluff Furnace in operation.
[Center] View facing south across the Tennessee at Chattanooga.
[Right] The Union Army used the remains as a lime kiln.
 
Topics. This historical
Innovation and Disaster Marker detail (original) image. Click for full size.
Unknown via Tennessee River Valley, 1860
2. Innovation and Disaster Marker detail (original)
The Bluff Furnace in operation in 1860.
marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceWar, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1860.
 
Location. 35° 3.366′ N, 85° 18.424′ W. Marker is in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Hamilton County. It is in Bluff View. Marker can be reached from Bluff View Avenue. Marker is in an alcove by the Williams Stairway on the Tennessee Riverwalk. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 Bluff View Ave, Chattanooga TN 37403, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. From Oblivion to Rebirth: Archaeological Research at the Bluff Furnace Site (here, next to this marker); Bluff Furnace Historical Park (here, next to this marker); The Beginnings of Iron Manufacture in Chattanooga (here, next to this marker); Bluff Furnace Historic Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Ross's Landing: River Crossing and Port (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hunter Museum of American Art (about 300 feet away); Headquarters Row (about 300 feet away); Site of Battery Smartt (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chattanooga.
 
Innovation and Disaster Marker detail (original) image. Click for full size.
Unknown via Tennessee River Valley, 1864
3. Innovation and Disaster Marker detail (original)
Union troops occupying Chattanooga used the Bluff Furnace's remains as a lime kiln.
Innovation and Disaster Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 16, 2021
4. Innovation and Disaster Marker
Marker is the middle one on the back row.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 91 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 19, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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Mar. 29, 2024