History of the Confederate Powder Works

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. When the American Civil War began Rains joined the Confederate army. George Rains became a major in the Ordnance Department and was tasked to procure, and prospect for, gunpowder ingredients and to initiate the production. His work did much for the establishment of Gen. Isaac M. St. John's Bureau of Nitre and Mining, to which he transferred, in 1862. Being promoted to lieutenant colonel, he went to Augusta, Georgia and established the Confederate Powder works at the Augusta Arsenal.