C. S. A. Hat Factory
Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Hats for the Confederate Army were made here by Robert Potts Bros. hatters during Civil War. In a year's time, 300 pounds of wool was used for 600 hats valued at $7,000.00 Overcoats, blankets, shoes and caps were also made in Texas factories for the army. Housewives carded cotton and wool. Homes having spinning wheels and looms made sheeting, linsey and flannel. Others knitted socks, caps, slippers-- or sewed drawers, shirts, pants. Texas cloth output included 130,000 yards a month from the state penitentiary.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Cut off from Northern and European factories by the Union blockade, the Confederacy had to clothe its armies from scratch — and here in Gilmer, the Potts brothers turned local wool into some 600 hats a year for Confederate soldiers. They were part of a vast improvised war economy: Texas factories turned out overcoats, blankets, shoes, and caps, while housewives carded wool, spun cloth, and knitted socks at home. Even the state penitentiary wove 130,000 yards of cloth a month.
Why it matters
The Confederate home front reveals how total war reached into ordinary workshops and parlors, making cloth-making and hat-making acts of wartime supply.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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