George Washington Rains
George Washington Rains | |
|---|---|
Bureau of Nitre and Mining | |
| Commands held | Augusta Powderworks 1st Regiment, Georgia Local Defense |
| Battles/wars |
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| Relations | Brig. Gen. Gabriel J. Rains (brother) |
| Other work | College professor, author, inventor |
George Washington Rains (1817 – March 21, 1898) was a United States Army and later Confederate States Army officer. A skilled engineer and inventor; he was instrumental in providing the Confederacy with much-needed gunpowder throughout the American Civil War. He also was the younger brother of fellow Confederate general Gabriel J. Rains.
Biography
Rains was born in
Rains became a proprietor of the Washington & Highland Iron Works in Newburgh, New York and became a patent holding engineer for steam engines and boilers.[3][5] He also married local Frances Josephine Ramsell (1838–1919) with whom he'd have a daughter, Fanny Powell Rains.
When the
Shortly before the war ended he additionally received command of the ordnance depots and arsenals in the lower Confederacy. Apparently in 1865 he had been made a
After the war Rains stayed in Augusta and chose an academic life; he lectured as professor of chemistry at the Medical College of Georgia. Also becoming its dean, he retired in 1894 and returned to Newburgh.[5] He died there on March 21, 1898, and was buried at Saint George's Cemetery.[3]
Historian and publisher
Selected works by George W. Rains
- Rains, George W. (1845). Practical observations on the generation of statical electricity by the electrical machine. New Haven: B.L. Hamlen.
- Rains, George W. (1861). Notes on making saltpetre from the earth of the caves. New Orleans: Daily Delta job office.
- Rains, George W. (1882). History of the Confederate powder works. Newburgh, NY: Newburgh daily news print.
- US Patent No. 28.011 (Re-issue No. 1016); Improved Feed-Water Apparatus for Steam Boilers; 1860
- US Patent No. 32.204; Improvement in Steam-Boilers; 1861
- US Patent No. 32.532; Improved Safety Apparatus for Steam Boilers; 1861
See also
- List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate)
- Confederate Powderworks
- Bureau of Nitre and Mining
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
- Cullum, George W.(1868). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: D. Van Nostrand.
- Robbins, Peggy (April 2002). "The Confederacy's Bomb Brothers". Journal of Mine Action. 6 (1). Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- "George Washington Rains". Aztec Club. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- Chip Bragg, Theodore P. Savas, et al. Never For Want of Powder: The Confederate Powder Works at Augusta, Georgia. University of South Carolina Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-570036-57-6.
External links
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