Artificial sweeteners have been around longer than you might imagine, and as long as they have been around they have raised questions and produced challenges for those trying to protect the food supply. The Fascinating history of Saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, is a story of science, industry, regulation, and consumers seeking a sweet treat without the guilt.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.