During the 1860s, the Army Quartermaster's Department established large remount depots at St. Louis and at Giesboro Point near Washington, DC where purchased horses were collected etc. in preparation for distribution to Army units.
Mr. William Russell, who wrote a popular book on "Scientific horseshoeing," was said to have been quite prolific in his labors in the 1860s, shoeing up to 300 Army horses per day under government contract, which required him to post a $10,000 bond. It was said his shop labored day and night, and by shifts to complete the work.
Unlike in World War I, where the Army Quartermaster's Department soldiers were the farriers, etc., in the 1860s the Government employed civilians for much of the work.
The Army employed field forges for taking care of the horses assigned to units.
Major Jacob Roemer of the US Army Artillery observed that in his field battery the unit farriers (about two per company) had to be kept busy every night replacing lost shoes, etc.
The US Government purchased about fifty million horseshoes during the war. And about 650,000 horses and 300,000 mules, or nearly a million animals.
During the US involvement in the First World War, 1917-18, the Government purchased 181,000 horses and 124,000 mules, or about 300,000 animals, according to this 1926 US Army publication:
Bringing the