Answer:
The
manufacturing might of the North during the Civil War (1861-65) often overshadowed that of the South, but the success of the Confederate war effort depended as much on the iron of its industry as the blood of its fighting men. Over the course of the war, Georgia, known as the antebellum "Empire State of the South," became an indispensable site for wartime manufacturing, combining a prewar industrial base with extensive transportation linkages and a geographic location secure for most of the war from the ravages of enemy armies. Manufacturing gunpowder, munitions, textiles, and a vast array of other essential materiel, Georgia's industry kept the Confederacy fighting, if never quite as well supplied as its Northern opponent.
Antebellum Industry
In the generation preceding the war, enterprising Georgians experimented with a variety of industries in an effort to lessen the state's dependence on cotton cultivation. Cotton farming dominated Georgia's antebellum economy, but by the mid-1830s declining prices fueled by overproduction led some to seek alternatives to agriculture's boom-and-bust cycles. Industrial development offered one such alternative, and a flurry of investment enabled a number of nascent industries to appear throughout the state. Primarily located in fall-line cities like Augusta, Columbus, and Macon, these early manufactories provided the foundation for later efforts to supply Confederate armies