Blacksmithing

[unicornforge]

One Traveling Forge was assigned to accompany each battery of 6 cannons, in order to take care of teh Battery's 154 horses, leather goods, cannon carriages, caissons, limbers, and supply wagons, etc. Additional Traveling Forges were provided for general use by the army, whose clients included mounted officers, cavalry and supply wagons. Coal, horseshoes, iron bars, a one hundred pound anvil and a vise were carried in the back of this wagon. The smith's most frequently used tools were carried within the Limber Chest on the Limber that served as the front of the wagon. Other tools, supplies and spare parts were carried in a separate Battery Wagon for use by the smiths.

Only two types of blacksmith forges were used by the army and documented in the Ordnance Manuals, Mordecai Drawings, and other historical sources. These were the Traveling Forge and on only those extremely rare occasions where the cavalry units operated in the mountainous areas, the Mountain Forge. The Mountain Forge was a folding sheet-metal forge of specific dimensions and weight. No makeshift or angle-iron forges were used by the U.S. Army during the 19th century *ever*.

For further information on the Traveling Forge please see:
http://travelingforge.home.comcast.net/
as they have excellent links and information.

My Avatar, as shown above, shows my Traveling Forge that I am in the process of constructing. The black blobs in the front that are difficult to see, comprise the reproduction cast-iron fireback, and the sheet iron fireplace. The grey stand upon which it sits is designed to allow the construction and addition of the axle, wheels, stock and lunette.