Alabama Civil War Timeline
September 8, 1864
Union Troops Destory Bon Secour Salt Works
BALDWIN COUNTY MAIN PAGE
Baldwin County Alabama contributed to the Confederate Civil War activities through production of salt from the Bon Secour Salt Works which went into production in early 1863. The salt production facility was was comprised of long open sheds with a brick firebox running down the center of the shed. Iron containers positioned along the fire box and were heated by a fire and as the hot air traveled through a fire box, it boiled the brine solution in the pots leaving the salt to be collected. The brine was taken from pits dug into the area’s salt marshlands.
In September, 1864, Union troops proceeded to Bon Secour to destroy the salt works. Captain C.W. Stone of the 6th Michigan Volunteers recorded that forces under his command destroyed 990 of the iron vats and hauled away 30,000 feet of lumber. In his official report, Captain Stone mentioned that his forces burned all that was left behind at Bon Secour including
“a number of buildings having been constructed by the Confederate forces as quarters for soldiers, the place being known as Camp Anderson.”
On September 8, 1864, a combined army-navy raiding party led by Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George Wiggin, USN, left the Fort Morgan anchorage at 7:00 a.m. Wiggin commanded three naval gunboats, the USS Tritonia, the USS Rodolph, and the USS Stockdale and one army transport, the steamer Planter, which had two barges in tow.