Reviews Henry Foxall: Methodist, Industrialist, American by Jane B. Donovan (New Room Books, Nashville, TN, 2017, 294pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 978-0-93816-239-1; $59.99hc) This biography of Henry Foxall (17581823) is a multifaceted portrait, rich in historical context, of an immigrant ironworker from England who made his fortune in the United States during the first years of the Early Republic. Foxall was also a devour Methodist, a follower ofJohn Wesley, Francis Asbury, and other religious spokesmen. The biographer weaves these two themes as she explains his earliest life experiences, as the son of ironworker Thomas Foxall, growing up in the English midlands and Wales as the Industrial Revolution introduced the machine age. Foxall's arrival in the United States in 1795, at the very rime when America's developing industries needed his skills, was propitious. In the 1750s, small iron forges and foundries served local communities and farmers in Wales and the towns west of Birmingham, England. The forges' need for iron ore and coal led to roads being built, linking these communities that wo uld one day be called the "Black Country" because of rhe pervasive soot from foundry chimneys that settled over the countryside. Many of those who, like the Foxalls, worked these forges were of extremely modest means and possessed strong Protestant religious faith, believing in the need for a reformed Church of England. Henry Foxall grew up in this environment; as an adult became an enthusiastic practitioner, lay preacher, and strong supporter of Methodism in the United States. Donovan demonstrates that Henry Foxall's religious beliefs formed an essential element of his success as a businessman and community leader later in life, but the driving element of Foxall 's success was his superior knowledge of the iron-making business, learned from his fat her and employment as a furnace man at Fundey's Forge under Henry Cort, a major supplier of iron for the Plymouth Dockyard. Cort developed and patented a rolling mill and the "puddling process," which dramatically improved the strength of iron bar being produced. After Cort's financial fai lure in the mid-1780s, Foxall rook his fami ly to Ireland, where he worked at County Antrim's Arigna SEA HISTORY 160, AUTUMN 20 17
Iron Works. Due to religious and political upheaval in Ireland, Foxall finally decided to emigrate-stealthily-to the United States in 1795. His departure required stealth because Foxall had become a specialist in an industry whose methods the British sought to protect. In leaving, Foxall was breaking laws that prohibited skilled artisans with industrial trade secrets firmly planted in their minds from emigrating. From the moment of his arrival at Philadelphia, Foxall sought employment in iron manufacturing. Perhaps through his Methodist connections, Foxall gained an introduction to Robert Morris, the financier, who quickly realized his potential and set Foxall up to build a foundry at Springersbury on the Schuylkill River. The business became known as the Eagle Works, run by Henry Foxall & Company. This marked the beginning of Foxall 's remarkable career as a provider of ordnance for the Republic's incipient War and Navy Departments. At Eagle, Foxall built forges, furnaces, and a boring mill, with rhe promise of federal contracts through Tench Francis, the purveyor of public supplies for the War Department. There was at that rime one other major cannon founder, Samuel Hughes of the Principio Iron Works near H avre de Grace, Maryland. Yer he was unable to produce the number of guns needed for the new ships that had been authorized in 1794, and those that had been cast already were of irregular quality. Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stodden contracted with Foxall to produce guns and shot of varying dimensions for Captain Richard Dale's Ganges and many other naval vessels. The excellent quality of Foxall's products and the rapidity of production established him as the principal provider of ordnance for the US Army and Navy, through the end of the War of 1812. In 1800, Foxall bought land in Georgetown and there built his Columbia Ironworks so as to be near the War Department and the Washington Navy Yard. He retained a half interest in the Eagle Ironworks, which continued production according to his standards. An example of the Navy's dependence on Foxall is his production of forty 32-pounder carronades for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's brigs Niagara and Lawrence. These guns, each of which weighed nearly a ton,
had to be transported by wagon to Pittsburgh, transferred to barges, and hauled up the Allegheny River and French Creek to Erie, Pennsylvania, about a seven-week ordeal. There were other foundries that produced guns and round shot, owned by Samuel Hughes, as noted, bur when Admiral Cockburn's 1813 raid on Havre de Grace and the Principio Ironworks destroyed his plant, from then on, Foxall had a virtual monopoly on ordnance production for the duration of the war. An extensive portion of this book is devoted to Henry Foxall 's religious views because of his great interest in and patronage of Methodism as it was raking hold in the United States. He was known for his donations to construction of churches for the faithfu l. Yer, the evident paradox of supporting religion while making weapons of war did not escape his notice. When asked abo ut this conflict, Foxall averred that although he made weapons to destroy bodies, he assuaged his conscience by building churches ro save souls. I recommend this well-written, thoroughly researched study to all interested in America's indus-
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