A cotton mill was soon added, which produced the famed cotton warp jeans and a fabric that could with- stand the hard and tedious work slaves were tasked with every day. The brothers continued to find success in an array of products until the outbreak of the
War. Francis and Henry shifted their business to focus on
producing fabric for North Carolina troops. During those years, the mill stayed open 24 hours every day, except for Sunday so that the
team could have a full day of rest.
Sadly, Francis passed away in 1863, a couple years before a Union occupier allowed for the mills in Salem to be looted and the storage in High Point was set on fire. Though some of the townspeople were guilty of participatingin the looting, many of them brought
back what they had taken and began their own efforts to help
F & H Manufacturing in many of the same ways it helped them, even going as far as re-establishing the barter system
once present in Salem to ensure the company had the basic
goods it needed to survive. By 1867, the company was profiting
again and began to produce enough goods to care for the town
and rebuild the surplus.
Although he did not see the end of the War, nor the great recovery efforts put forth by the town, nor his companies recent