Hunter’s Iron Works in Stafford County played a critical role in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) as a major supplier of weapons, tools, and other items needed by the Continental Army and Navy. Along with the state-supported Fredericksburg Gun Manufactory, it was one of two major weapons manufacturers in Virginia during the war. Founded by Scottish merchant James Hunter in the late 1750s, Hunter’s Iron Works had become one of the largest industrial plants in the Chesapeake Bay region by 1770, employing both free and enslaved tradesmen. After the start of the Revolution, Hunter added a large armory called Rappahannock Forge to manufacture muskets and other guns, tools, and camp equipment, becoming a critical source of weaponry for the Patriots. Beset by labor and financial shortages and owed a large sum by the Virginia government for weapons and goods he supplied, Hunter’s Iron Works struggled in the final years of the war. It largely ceased activity by the close of the war. James Hunter died in 1784, and the iron works eventually fell into disuse.
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