Further insight comes from study of Tredegar cast iron 6-pounder smooth bores and 3-inch rifles.  Joseph Reid Anderson, the astute owner of the Tredegar Iron Works, evidently foresaw critical shortages of copper and tin. As early as 1861 he began to take advantage of almost unlimited quantities of Confederate iron ore. Several 6-pounder smooth bore cannons were produced at least through July of 1862. On 26 December 1861 Colonel Josiah Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance of the Confederate States, wrote to Tredegar, “All 6-pounder guns are to be bored and rifled 3-inch.  Our Tredegar reproduction can be ordered in either the 6-pounder smooth bore or a rifled version of 3-inch bore.