At the time of the Civil War, the Marietta Paper Mill was the largest in the state. During the war years the mill manufactured cartridge paper used in Confederate guns. The mill was even rumored to have printed Confederate money and bonds therefore nicknaming it the “Confederate Mint.” However, those claims have never been substantiated. This made it a target of destruction during Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. General William Tecumseh Sherman devised a plan to burn everything that would help the South and prolong its fighting in the Civil War. Union soldiers, led by General Gerrard, burned the mill. There are conflicting reports whether the mill was burned on July 5 or July 6, 1864 by the Union Army.