To facilitate the transportation, a short branch of railroad was constructed connecting the canal basin with the Georgia Railroad. The safe, economical, and ready means of transportation by the canal were invaluable; no accident ever happened, notwithstanding the immense amount of combustible material--over two thousand five hundred tons--which had passed to and fro over it during the three years of operations. From the canal bank to the entrance of each building, the walks were covered with compressed sawdust, and rubber shoes were worn by all operatives in the departments containing gunpowder. It is an interesting fact that Augusta was the only city of note in the South, which was not occupied at some time by the Federal forces during the war; here the flag of the Confederacy floated undisturbed to the end. The extensive Sibley Cotton Factory has been erected on a portion of the site of the Refinery, Laboratory and Incorporating Mills, and so arranged that the Confederate obelisk stands conspicuously in front of the centre; the battlemented and ornamental architecture of the Powder Works was adopted in the construction of the Factory buildings, which give them a fine and noble appearance. Here was once heard the noise of the clanking wheels and muffled sounds of the ponderous rollers of war, as they slowly concentrated into black masses the enormous energies which were to shake the earth and air, with the roar and deafening explosions of the battle field. Now the air is again filled with the sounds of moving machinery, but it is the busy hum of peaceful occupations which assist to clothe the world from the white cotton fields of Georgia. The black material of war has given away to the white staple of peace. Of the extensive Confederate Powder Works nothing remains except the obelisk enclosing the great Chimney. Its battlemented tower and lofty shaft, large proportions and beautiful workmanship, will bear evidence of the magnitude and style of their construction to future generations. APPENDIX. To the special duties of the manufacture of gunpowder were added the command of the Augusta Arsenal, on the 7th April, 1862, and at a later period that of the Military District of Augusta. In the early part of February, 1863, in connection with Captain Fairfax, of the Confederate Navy, the duties of getting into effective operation the extensive and unfinished Foundry Works constructed at Selma, Alabama, under contract with the War and Navy Departments, were superadded. When the communication with Richmond was endangered, in the latter part of the war, all the Arsenals south of Virginia, were committed to my charge.