Our governor has stated that he wants Ohioans to become more aware of our contribution to the victory in the Civil War.

Not only did our great grandparents fight in the Ohio Division during the Civil War but even a more noticeable contribution was made from southeastern Ohio.

The iron from southeastern Ohio was so pure. The good limestone and an abundance of good hard wood for charcoal was superior to anything Europe could supply the South.

The cast iron (pig iron), used in the manufacturing of the Swamp Angel, was cast at the Hecla Furnace, three miles north of Ironton on State Route 93.

This cannon, because of the purity of the iron, was able to hurl a cannon ball over four miles.

And this was so superior to the other cannons that the Swamp Angel could sit back so far from “ground zero” that the people could not hear the sound of the cannon being fired, only the landing of the cannon balls.

The Swamp Angel was sent to Charleston, S.C. and if you go to Yahoo.com and search Swamp Angel, you will find that this cannon was instrumental in ending the war much earlier than it would have been.

And this same type of contribution to the war effort was carried over to the following wars (World War I and II) as the iron, steel , and manufacturing of southern Ohio kept the United States’ soldiers supplied with the best .

We have proven to be the best manufacturing nation in the world. I pray that our politicians will let us prove it again .

Paul E. Sites, Jackson