Goose Creek Salt Works Destruction
Beginning on the 21 October 1862, about 500 U.S. troops worked 36 hours in good weather to destroy the Goose Creek Salt Works in Clay County along with about 50,000 bushels of salt stored there. Confederate Brigadier General Zollicoffer about a year before had sent wagon trains to transport loads of salt to the south. The effect of the destruction of the salt works was felt with the arrival of cold weather of November. The temperature fell and, as usual, the slaughter of hogs began. Salt was used to cure the pork so that it would be preserved for consumption through the winter and spring. But this November, the price of the salt used in the curing of the pork rose from 50 cents to $2.00 per bushel because of the shortage resulting from the Goose Creek action. |
Danville Kentucky Weather |