This $2 bill was printed by the Mechanics Bank in Augusta, Georgia.
The letter "A" on top left. No. 2177 and dated 1858 on the right. The lady's portrait is not identified. Printed on the bottom in very small print: -- left: Danforth, Spencer & Hufty, New York. -- right: Spencer, Danforth & Hufty, Philad The back of the bill is blank. Photo provided by a private collector. During the War Between the States the Augusta Arsenal was a focal point for the war effort casting cannons, projectiles and grenades, and making percussion caps, paper cartridges, limber chests, harnesses, canteens, and uniforms.
This pressing iron, also cast at the Augusta Arsenal, was used during the WBTS to press Naval uniforms. The "C" stands for the Confederacy. This iron is probably the only survivor of a World War II scrap drive. An employee found about fifty irons which were donated to the scrap drive, but this one was taken home and used as a doorstop. The iron is made of cast iron and weighs 14 pounds. Photo provided by a private collector. Local lore has it that this Quaker cannon or wooden gun was manufactured at the shops of the Augusta Arsenal and were ordered by Col. William G. Gill, Ordnance Officer and CSA's first commander of the Arsenal in 1861. Since there were very few real cannons at the Arsenal at the beginning of the War Between the States, these wooden guns were made quickly and cheaply, and were placed at most of the earthen works and rebouts protecting the Augusta area and the Arsenal itself. They were mixed in with other cannons and a partial charge was fired occasionally so that it appeared to be a real cannon from a distance, giving the illusion that the area was well fortified. Orders to produce Quaker cannons were often verbal to hinder the enemy from learning that the South was using fake guns. Excluding the wooden base, this Quaker cannon is 8 inches in diameter and 33 inches long, with 29 inches of the interior hollowed out. Photo provided by a private collector.
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