DESIGNING WAR
was on the cusp of becoming an industrial giant when the Civil War burst into flame in 1861. The local, cottage-industry system was already on its way out as railroads, canals, and steamboats brought goods manufactured in industrial centers to remote parts of the country. Take the steamboat that hit a snag and sank in the Missouri River near Kansas City, Mo., in 1856. Her cargo, headed for the frontier and preserved in a museum in the same city, was an Amazon-like potpourri of just about everything a settler would need, hardware, tools, food, and clothes, the list could go on. No need to weave cloth or forge a hammer. Just get to work. In such an industrially charged atmosphere, it’s no surprise that the war inspired many to get to
