Foundries were accordingly established for the manufacture of artillery, and factories for muskets, ammunition, and percussion caps.

The South had, in fact, to manufacture everything down to the cloth for her soldiers' uniforms and the leather for their shoes; and, as in the past she had relied wholly upon the North for such goods, it was for a time impossible to supply the troops with even the most necessary articles.
The women throughout the States were set to work spinning and weaving rough cloth and making uniforms from it.

Leather, however, cannot be produced all at once, and indeed, with all their efforts, the Confederate authorities were never, throughout the war, able to provide a sufficient supply of boots for the troops, and many a battle was won by soldiers who fought almost barefooted, and who reshod themselves for the most part by stripping the boots from their dead foes.

Many other articles could not be produced in the Southern States, and the Confederates suffered much from the want of proper medicines and surgical appliances.
For these and many other necessaries they had to depend solely upon the ships which succeeded in making their way through the enemy's cruisers and running the blockade of the ports.

Wine, tea, coffee, and other imported articles soon became luxuries beyond the means of all, even the very wealthy.