Christopher Werner
ca 1850
Born	April 13, 1805 Münster, Germany
Died	June 10, 1875
Resting place	St. Laurence cemetery Magnolia, South Carolina Roman Catholic cemetery
Nationality	German immigrant
Occupation	wrought iron worker
Known for	wrought iron designs
Spouse	Isabella Hanna
Children	Robert Henry Mary Jane Bernard Christopher John Hanna Isabella Grace
Parent(s)	Bernard Werner - father

Christopher Werner was a well known nineteenth-century wrought iron manufacturer, artisan and entrepreneur from the state of South Carolina, USA. ^[1]

Werner was born in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany in 1805. His father, "Burnhard", was a wealthy carriage builder. He learned his initial blacksmithing skills of iron working in his father's blacksmith shop. Werner was known as a carriage maker, blacksmith, wrought iron worker, and a businessman. ^[2]

The motivation for the immigration to America was the requirement to enter into the army regardless of one's financial or nobility status. The idea of entering into the service of the authoritarian Prussian army at that time did not appeal to Werner, so in the 1830s he immigrated to America. He took up residence in Charleston, South Carolina and obtained American citizenship in 1839. He likely immigrated at least 5 years before 1839 as the naturalization process at that time took at least 5 years. Warner married Isabella Hanna from Liverpool, England in 1841 and they had 6 children, 5 of which lived to adulthood. Baby Bernard died when 6 years old. His adult children were literate and some received formal schooling. John Hanna was sent to Germany for part of his schooling.^[2]

According to the 1850 U.S. Census Werner is 45 years old and his wife is 13 years his junior, 32 years old. At the time in the household is Robert H. Werner (9), Mary Werner (8), Bernard Werner (1), and Hannah Werner (65).^[3] According to the 1860 U.S. Census Werner is 55 years old and his wife is 14 years his junior, 41 years old. At the time in the household is Robert Werner (18), Mary Werner (15), Jno H Werner (4), Grace Werner (1), and Ann Lee (70).^[4] They are living in Charleston Ward 4, Charleston, South Carolina.^[4]

He followed in his father's footsteps and first became a maker of carriages. Later added a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright shop and a moulding shop to his business as a carriage maker. All these shops he made into a foundry which was located in Charleston on the street corner of Cumberland and State. His business soon expanded into a large enterprise throughout the state of South Carolina. Werner had an excellent reputation for quality work.^[1] It has been said that his work did not need the modest stamp "Werner, fecti" (Werner made it) as the grace and beauty of his work spoke for itself.^[A]

During the nineteenth-century there was a type of guild of the "mechanic class" in Charleston which was a group of men with special skills related to the mechanics of blacksmithing. It was more-or-less a secret society and this "mechanic class" technology information was kept to themselves and not given out to the public for future generations.^[2]

Werner liked to construct new buildings and remodel older existing buildings. Because of this he was temporarly located at his project while working on the "old house" and the "new house" and had his address there. He then shows up at different Charleston addresses over time, but always kept his foundry business address near State Street and Cunberland Streeet as a permanent one. In 1859 he advertised in one of the Charleston directories, "C. Werner manufacturer of Railings, Verandals, and Fancy Iron Works generally, together with repairing & smithery in all branches...No.17 State, near corner of Cumberland St." Most of his temporary addresses were in the vicinity of his foundry business and located generally on State Street, Cumberland Street, and Meeting Street.^[2]

Werner strove “to show what could be accomplished in Charleston in the adornment of edifices, to make it worthy of the name of ‘Queen City of the South.’”^[5] He was one of three German immigrants who "created an abundance of the mid-nineteenth century ironwork." The other two were J. A. W. Iusti and Frederick Julius Ortmann.^[6]

He constructed iron fences and other wrought iron projects all over South Carolina. He was known for making a business design of a sign with a snake. The snake extended in circles from the wall where it hung by its tail. In the snake's mouth was a sign of the merchant's business clutched by its jaws. A well known work Warner did was the spiral and finial of St. Matthew's Lutheran church on King Street.^[7] He also did all the wrought ironwork for the Abbeville, South Carolina, courthouse. ^[1]

A memorial sculpture he did was the wrought ironwork of the Palmetto Monument on the Capitol grounds in Columbia, South Carolina central figured by the Palmetto tree.^{[B][C][1][8][9]} The lifelike tricolored metal sculpture — scarcely distinguishable from a real tree^[10] — stood on the capitol grounds until it was toppled and shattered by a "freak" February 3, 1939 tornado. It was designed by Henry Steenken, who worked in Werner’s shop.^[1]

The plates that contained the names of the lost were destroyed by Sherman’s Army, and they too have been restored.^[10] See Carolinas Campaign and Army of Georgia.

Werner did it without a commission, and as "a speculation." He was relying upon his execution, the tree's importance as a secular and cultural icon and knew the horrific extent of the loss the state had suffered. Like “a fisherman, casting and letting the bait settle” he put the monument in front of the old State House.^[11] He had done it is an homage, embodying the State Seal's Palmetto Tree, and recognizing the terrible price the state had paid in the Mexican War (1846-1848). The South had sent 43232 troops, compared to 22136 from the more populated North. The "Palmetto Regiment suffered greater losses than any other American unit." Of 974 volunteers, 501 succumbed to wounds and disease. Among them was former governor Pierce M. Butler, who died in the fight. The question of payment for the monument and associated plaques became embroiled in politics, and left Werner unhappy and dissatisfied.^[11]

Called by some the “Iron Palmetto,” it is the oldest monument at the State House. Werner was initially paid $5,000.00 for the sculpture.^[12]

His creation of the "Sword Gate", most probably designed by well regarded Charleston architect Charles F. Reichert^[13], is one of the two most notable iron gates in Charleston, the other being the St. Michael's Cemetery Gate by Iusti.^[14][15] Like many of his other works, it was probably ordered by one patron and installed for another, because the work exceeded the contractual cost.^[9]

According to a 1907 newspaper report Werner's wrought ironwork could then be seen at Mayor Rhett's "handsome old house" on Broad Street in Charleston, previously the John Rutledge House, when Werner did the wrought iron work for the original owner, Thomas N. Gadsden. The entrance gate to Judge Simonton's house at Tradd and Legare Streets was done by Werner.^[1] The Rutledge house incorporates two of Werner's favored design elements: palmettos and eagles.^[16]

He crafted the iron gates for the Hibernian Hall, a National Historic Landmark built in 1840 to provide a meeting place for the Hibernian Society, an Irish benevolent organization founded in 1801. The Hall was associated with the National Democratic Convention of 1860, a critical political assembly lies United States history.^[17] The design includes Irish harps.^[9]

Werner continued to work until 1870,^[14] having labored for over 30 years.^[18] He had been a successor to other master craftsmen who worked in Charleston, and he was one of a triumvirate of German masters of fashioning iron into artful gates. Unfortunately, the product of the craft has always been under siege. According to traditional folklore, sadly, some of Charleston’s "finest" cast iron gates found their way into horseshoes, and even the sides of the CSS Virginia, formerly the USS Merrimack.^[18]

The United States Patent Office shows he has patent No. 109,694 issued November 29, 1870 for an improvement in awning-frames.^[19]

• 
  Werner Palmetto sculpture
• 
  Palmetto Regiment Monument
• 
  St. Matthew's church showing Warner's spiral with finial
  (a rare picture from 1883)
• 
  John Rutledge House
  front wrought iron work
• 
  Swords Gate House
  32 La Gare St
  Charleston, SC

• Bryan, John Morrill (1999). Creating the South Carolina State House. Columbia: University of South Carolina. p. 39-42. ISBN 1570032912. Retrieved 11 January 2012.

• Ciociola, Kelly Ann (May 2010). "'WERNER FECIT': CHRISTOPHER WERNER AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY CHARLESTON IRONWORK (A Thesis)" (pdf). Graduate Schools of Clemson University and the College of Charleston. Retrieved 11 January 2011. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

• Deas, Alston (1941). The Early Ironwork of Charleston. Columbia, South Carolina: Bostick & Thornley, Publishers,.((cite book)): CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

• Maybank, Burnet R.; Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of South Carolina (1941). South Carolina: a guide to the Palmetto state. New York: Oxford University Press. ((cite book)): Text "page 222-223" ignored (help)

• Vlaich, Joseph Michael (1992). Charleston Blacksmith: The Work of Phillip Simmon. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 82-84. ISBN 0-87249-835-2.

• Ciociola, Kelly Ann (May 2010) Bibliography, pages 332-336. ‘WERNER FECIT’: CHRISTOPHER WERNER AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY CHARLESTON IRONWORK (A Thesis) Graduate Schools of Clemson University and the College of Charleston.

• Ravenel, Beatrice St. Julien (1904–1990); Julien, Carl (photographs); Carolina Art Association (1992). Architects of Charleston. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. p. 176 (plate), 180, 195, 246, 255. ISBN 087249828X. LCCN 91034126.((cite book)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

• Vlach, John M. (1997). "Charleston's Ironwork Traditions" in J. H. Poston: The Buildings of Charleston. University of South Carolina Press. p. 31-36.

• Wagener, John A.; Werner, Carl (1872/1873). der deutsche Tubal-Kain in Der deutsche Pionier. Vol. 4. p. 291-293. ((cite book)): Check date values in: |year= (help)

• John Henry Devereux‎

• "South Carolina capitol, monments" (photographs).