Also known as: Allegheny Arsenal.
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Role | United States ammunition arsenal |
| Disaster | A catastrophic explosion in 1862 killed many workers |
Ammunition and tragedy
The Allegheny Arsenal at Pittsburgh was a United States arsenal engaged heavily in making cartridges and ammunition for the Federal armies, work that employed many civilian laborers, among them numbers of young women.
In 1862 the arsenal suffered a catastrophic explosion that killed many of these workers, one of the worst home-front disasters of the war, a grim reminder of the hazards of handling black powder in quantity.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: manufacturer and arsenal references, manuals, and reports.