General William H. Powell

Source: Fifty Years’ Recollections by Jeriah Bonham; Published in 1883

Submitted by Robert Kingrey

William H. Powell was born in New South Wales, on May 10, 1825, and came to America with his parents in 1832, stopping one year near Philadelphia, Pa, when they removed to Nashville, Tennessee.

Where he was given limited educational privileges for a short time, and at a very early age was placed in a rolling mill and nail factory in Nashville to learn the business, and remained there until his eighteenth year, learning the height and depth and length and the breadth of the manufacture of iron and nail making, that has, in the years since then, placed him in the front rank in both these departments as a manufacturer.

When in his eighteenth year, in 1843, Gen. Powell removed to Wheeling, W.Va., and engaged in the same business, still applying himself to studying every detail of the business, and all the processes of iron making for the next years. When but twenty-two years old he built the Benwood Nail Works, and was superintendent, very successfully managing the business until 1853, when he severed his connection with the Benwood works, and removed to Ironton, Ohio, and built the Bellefonte Nail Works, and operated them until August 1861, when he entered the service as Captain of a company in the 2nd Regiment West Virginia Cavalry, a regiment organized in Ohio, but from the fact that so many more men were offering than could be accepted from Ohio, the regiment was tendered as part of the quota from West Virginia.

He performed very arduous services during the war that our space prevents enumerating in detail, was promoted, passing through all the grades of promotion for meritorious conduct up to major-general, commanding the 2nd Division Cavalry under Sheridan in the service until the close of the war.

When he was mustered out in 1865 he returned to his business at Ironton and greatly increased the facilities of the Belfont Works with his inventive genius. Having sold out his interest at Ironton, he returned to W. Va.

In 1867, built the Clifton Nail Works on the Ohio River, and was superintendent until 1870 when by being thrown buggy, he received almost fatal injuries which incapacitated him from business, and from which he slowly recovered.

He removed to Kansas City, Mo., and while regaining strength he engaged in the commission business, remaining there until 1875, when he removed to Belleville, Ill., again engaging in the nail business, continuing there ever since, aiding in the development that industry in connection with others.

When General William H. Powell returned to Ohio after the war a seat in the United States Senate was pressed upon him by the Republicans of Ohio, but his private business demanded his unremitting attention and he declined their offers.

In March 1882, the Western Nail Company of Belleville was organized with General Powell, President, Conrad Rienecke, Vice-President and Treasurer, and Benjamin J. West, Jr., Secretary.

The building of their extensive works was commenced on April 15th and pushed with such energy that they were completed, and they commenced making nails on Sept. 4, 1882, with a rolling-mill capacity of twenty-eight tons of nail plate per day, with fifty-six nail machines, having capacity of three thousand kegs per week, with room to add one hundred and twenty-five nail machines, as the trade demands they will be added.

As we have noted from his life-long experience, Gen. Powell, the president of the company, is a thoroughly practical man in the nail manufacturing business and has made it a study. C. Rienecke, the vice-president and treasurer, is a thoroughly practical, self-made man, owning two large coal mines near Belleville.

The nail works are located on the Louisville and Nashville Railway, within the corporate limits of Bellville, 14 miles southeast of St. Louis, and are supplied with coal from a shaft three hundred feet from the works, and the best of water from a reservoir only a little over one hundred yards away.

While at Belleville refreshing our remembrance of the olden time, calling on Gov. Koerner, Col. John Thomas, John Hay, Superintendent Raab, and many others posted in annals of Southern Illinois, we visited this busy bee hive of industry, the Western Nail Company, and for nearly 2 hours was shown through these extensive works, with all their Plutonian grandeur, heated like furnaces in which were cast the Hebrew children, with the sizzling of pig iron, bar iron, rolled iron, from the cutting railroad iron by large shears.

When it is put on hand cars in packages of 750 pounds, new iron is added in proper quantities to restore the railroad iron to the proper strength-to and add new life, these amalgamated parcels are wheeled in front of the furnace, where it is melted into a mass at white heat and started on its journey through the slab roller, on to the hot shears, cut into 10 blocks, and from this wheeled to the wash heating furnace, remaining there for about 15 minutes, then taken from the wash-heating furnace and rolled through 7 or 8 nail plate rollers, each one making it thinner until the proper thinness is reached for making nails, when they are cut into the proper width by passing through the nail plate shears, and from these are carted on hand trucks to the front of the nail machines.

There is also a nail plate-heating furnace for tempering the nail plate for large nails. We were also taken to a separate apartment that contained a 10-horsepower electric machine, sufficient for 10 lights, which serve to light the immense expanse of the building in all its parts.

The average day’s work per man (mostly boys) is 2 or 3 kegs a day for barrel nails: heaviest nails, from 65 to 70 kegs per day, and ten-penny nails from 20 to 22 kegs per day — a fair day’s work. When we were there the works were turning out some 3,000 kegs per week, with 56 machines. Other machines were being added, so that on January 1, 3500 kegs per week would be made, and now (April 1883) there are one hundred nail machines in operation, turning out fully 5,000 kegs per week.

It gives us pleasure to record this evidence of the manufacturers in the west, especially when managed by men who gained their knowledge in the dear school of experience.

Superintendent Powell, a cousin of General Powell, has the general oversight of the whole works, and to his courtesy, we are indebted for the pleasure of looking through the whole works. General Powell started the rounds with us, but a pressing business call requiring his attention to the balance of the sightseeing, illustrated by a full explanation showing the operation of the machinery in cutting the nails, is due to the superintendent in charge.

This large industry is due entirely to the enterprise of General William H. Powell, who today, we presume, has more intimate knowledge of the nail business than any other man in the United States, and it is one of the missions of our work to give prominence to the representative men of the country in every branch of the industry. This company, having their own coal and water from the subterranean depths beneath their works, is prepared to meet all demands on them out of reach of all competition from any quarter at any time.

The present value of their works, with new machines, just added, is $150,000. Monthly payrolls, $11,000 to $13,000: employees are paid every two weeks.

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New York Herald Jan. 22, 1865

When the rebellion broke out Gen. William H. Powell was employed as a financial agent and general superintendent in extensive iron manufacture in the State of Ohio.  This position he relinquished to enter the United States service, in answer to the President’s call for volunteers in August 1861. 

Having raised a company, he was elected captain and assigned to the Second (loyal) Virginia Cavalry.  The rank of captain he held until June 25, 1862, when for meritorious conduct on the field, he was raised to a majorship. 

In October following he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.  This rank he attained in consequence of having charged into a rebel camp – Fourteenth Virginia cavalry, two hundred strong – on Sinking Creek, Greenbriar county, West Virginia, Nov. 26, 1862. 

This charge he made with only one commissioned officer and twenty men of his own regiment, capturing 117 prisoners, including two commissioned officers, 500 stands of arms, and 130 horses equipped.  His term of service as lieutenant colonel expired on the 18th of May, 1863, at which time he reached the full rank of colonel. 

As Colonel of Second Virginia, he commanded the same during the raid made on Wytheville, a station on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, in July 1853.  In the course of this raid, he led a charge into Wytheville, captured from the enemy two pieces of artillery, and took eighty prisoners.  The charge was so successful that the enemy was literally routed. 

Unfortunately, Colonel William H. Powell was wounded, supposed mortally, and left in town, thus falling into the hands of the enemy.  He was taken to Richmond, and it is reported among the rebels of his having burned property and maltreated the disloyal people of Western Virginia, he was closely confined, without bed or bedding, for thirty-seven days, and during this time kept on bread and water. 

While confined in this manner he succeeded in getting a letter to the rebel Major General Sam E. Jones.  In reply to the letter, General Jones made such representations to the rebel authorities at Richmond as to induce them to allow the prisoner the privileges of a prisoner of war. 

General Jones commanded the rebel Department of Southwestern Virginia, and would certainly have known had there been any truth in the charges preferred against the accused.  The rebel Colonel Richard H. Lee having fallen into our hands wounded and a prisoner and Colonel Powell being anxious to again reach the field of active service, the rebels also being anxious to get Lee back, special parole for thirty days was granted to Colonel Powell to go North to effect an exchange for Colonel Lee. 

The exchange was affected.  Colonel Powell had been a prisoner for over six months and suffered all the indignities and hardships to which it was possible for the rebels to reduce him.  On returning to the Union lines he resumed the command of his regiment on the 11th of March following his parole and release.  His regiment was in General Dufle’s brigade of General Averill’s command and engaged in the movement of General Hunter against Staunton and Lynchburg.

On reaching Staunton Colonel William H. Powell was placed in command of the Third Brigade of the Second cavalry division, General Averill commanding.  It was Col. Powell’s brigade that opened the engagement in front of Lynchburg.  For his conduct at Wytheville and up to the time of his return to the Kanawha region, Colonel Powell received complimentary notices from General Averill, which are on record. 

On the 20th of July Colonel William H. Powell, with his brigade, had again reached the Shenandoah valley, via Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Md., and formed a portion of the forces engaged in the actions of the 20th of July, at Stevenson’s depot; Newtown, the 22d, and Winchester, the 24th of the same month. 

He also passed, as a brigade commander, through several battles from and including Moorefield, August 7, to Winchester, September 19; also, the engagement at Fisher’s Hill.  On arriving at Mount Jackson, General Averill was relieved, Colonel Powell was placed in command of the Second cavalry division and took it through the course of fights and movements in the neighborhood of Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave, and Brown’s Gap. 

On the 19th of October, he received his appointment as brigadier general of volunteers, vice Brigadier General Bidwell, was killed, for gallant conduct in the battles of Winchester and Fisher’s Hill on the 19th and 23rd of September 1864.  The appointment thus made was secured exclusively for service rendered in the field.