Steam Engines

[wausaubob]

In Mark Wilson's book on the Business of Civil War, he described other applications of steam power that had nothing to do with ships on the water. By 1860 the use of steam power to operate spindles and looms was well established. But in the US the major artillery factories had steam powered cranes to handle the artillery pieces during the cooling process. The major wagon factories in Cincinnati and Philadelphia had steam powered saws to produce the lumber. In pegging and sewing shoes to produce marching boots by the millions, in the US there were steam powered machines to complete that task. With respect to producing the basics necessary for war, and getting those items to the forward depots the US had an insurmountable advantage. And that advantage was in addition to the ability to build steam sloops, ironclad steamboats, and steam transports, however many were needed, wherever they could be used.

 

[DaveBrt]

Many major newspapers on both sides were printed on steam presses. There were also steam engines for use on farms.

 

[Rhea Cole]

After battles CSA farriers collected shoes from dead horses. No other source for premade shoes existed.

Patent drawing for horseshoe making machine.

On the other hand, the horseshoe machine patented in 1835 cranked out 3,600 an hour for the Union Army. This short article from American Farrier is an eye opener.

Link:

How Horseshoes Helped Win the Civil War

While Scotsman Henry Burden was a prolific inventor and industrialist who played a major role in the Civil War, his vital contributions are generally unknown. Many of his inventions helped the North, but the design and perfection of a horseshoe-making machine was his most important one. As a...

www.americanfarriers.com

 

[wausaubob]

Many major newspapers on both sides were printed on steam presses. There were also steam engines for use on farms.

To get a good idea of the many applications of steam power in that era a person should search for that listing in the 1870 census. For many reasons, the 1870 census was a better depiction of the emerging capitalist economy.

 

[MilesHai]

A couple of portable steam engines on the docks at City Point, Va., 1864-1865, by Andrew J. Russell.

National Archives 111-B-691

Rich Hochadel
seeingthecivilwar.com

 

[Old Soldier]

In those days if you motorised something, that motor would be a steam engine. Most were large and heavy, so they were not applied to anything moving cross country. There were no electic motors yet and nothing that could be applied to smaller items. Most steam-powered items were fixed or large mobile items. The fastest were RR locomotives, but even they would have a hard time hitting an average of 30mph on most lines due to the terrain. They hated inclines. On most of the longer distance tracks, wood was the preferred fuel as it was more easily available. Traction engines/road locos were walking pace and required a well-made road or jetty. Fixed cranes were often steam-powered but, again, needed well-made foundations. The main use for steam at this time was for factories where power was distributed by gears and rotating shafts with chain or belt connectors. It replaced the traditional waterwheel and allowed factories to be placed away from a flowing water resource.

For most of these engines, coal was essential, as it was the most efficient fuel available, so steam power tended to develop around the sources of coal. It spread with railroads, but only within about 50 miles, depending on the terrain, the track and the locomotives used. However, wood was a reasonable alternative - provided the boiler was built to use wood.

Later, in the 1870s, they were used to power DC electrical generators, but high voltage AC generation - which was easier to send long distances through tranmission lines - was still many decades away.

 

[rebelatsea]

After battles CSA farriers collected shoes from dead horses. No other source for premade shoes existed.

View attachment 550429
Patent drawing for horseshoe making machine.

On the other hand, the horseshoe machine patented in 1835 cranked out 3,600 an hour for the Union Army. This short article from American Farrier is an eye opener.

Link:

How Horseshoes Helped Win the Civil War

While Scotsman Henry Burden was a prolific inventor and industrialist who played a major role in the Civil War, his vital contributions are generally unknown. Many of his inventions helped the North, but the design and perfection of a horseshoe-making machine was his most important one. As a...

www.americanfarriers.com

The problem with that is - there is no such animal as a standard horse. which means that mass produced shoes have to be sized and custom fitted to each hoof.

 

[rebelatsea]

In those days if you motorised something, that motor would be a steam engine. Most were large and heavy, so they were not applied to anything moving cross country. There were no electic motors yet and nothing that could be applied to smaller items. Most steam-powered items were fixed or large mobile items. The fastest were RR locomotives, but even they would have a hard time hitting an average of 30mph on most lines due to the terrain. They hated inclines. On most of the longer distance tracks, wood was the preferred fuel as it was more easily available. Traction engines/road locos were walking pace and required a well-made road or jetty. Fixed cranes were often steam-powered but, again, needed well-made foundations. The main use for steam at this time was for factories where power was distributed by gears and rotating shafts with chain or belt connectors. It replaced the traditional waterwheel and allowed factories to be placed away from a flowing water resource.

For most of these engines, coal was essential, as it was the most efficient fuel available, so steam power tended to develop around the sources of coal. It spread with railroads, but only within about 50 miles, depending on the terrain, the track and the locomotives used. However, wood was a reasonable alternative - provided the boiler was built to use wood.

Later, in the 1870s, they were used to power DC electrical generators, but high voltage AC generation - which was easier to send long distances through tranmission lines - was still many decades away.

I don't know whether any American city was so equipped, but the London Hydraulic Power Company used high pressure water mains to power the London docks - cranes, winches, gates etc and to power lifts (elevators) in the buildings of the West end. The pressure was maintained by central steam pumping houses.

 

[Rhea Cole]

The problem with that is - there is no such animal as a standard horse. which means that mass produced shoes have to be sized and custom fitted to each hoof.

In support of your point; Burden's plant produced eight sizes of front shoes & five sizes of rear shoes. Then as now, the farrier adjusts the shoe to fit the hoof.

Link:

How Horseshoes Helped Win the Civil War

While Scotsman Henry Burden was a prolific inventor and industrialist who played a major role in the Civil War, his vital contributions are generally unknown. Many of his inventions helped the North, but the design and perfection of a horseshoe-making machine was his most important one. As a...

www.americanfarriers.com

 

[uaskme]

Lumber mills, flour mills, sugar refineries, RR engines, paddle wheel steamers. All used steam power and were in the South.

 

[Old Soldier]

Lumber mills, flour mills, sugar refineries, RR engines, paddle wheel steamers. All used steam power and were in the South.

While the North had two arms factories, clothing factories, ammunition amd cartridge suppliers screw steamers - and tons of coal.

 

[uaskme]

While the North had two arms factories, clothing factories, ammunition amd cartridge suppliers screw steamers - and tons of coal.

Had more of it, yes. Interpretation of some, South had none.

Might remember South supplied its armies for 4 years. Never ran out of arms or ammo. Most important thing was finance. Couldn't raise money. Recon why the North was so inept that it took so long to defeat the South? How many foreigners did they have to pay to fight for them. 25% of the South stayed in the Union. A large part of their Mfg capability. However Confederate States were able to adapt. 2 1/2 times the white population. All of these things contributed to a Northern victory.

 

[G Low]

I worked one summer for a local company that refurbished loom parts. We refurbished parts for cotton mills all over Georgia and east Alabama . The Atlanta Federal prison had a cotton mill for prisoners to work in. This was an old mill and had one large coal powered boiler that ran a steam engine. The driveshaft ran the length of the building belts going up through the ceiling and down through the floor.The whole building rocked with each revolution of the steam engine's fly wheel. Most cotton mills have tall smokestacks for their coal powered boilers. It made one heck of a racket.

 

[G Low]

As long as someone (me) brought up cotton mills…. This is my G x 4greatgrandfather's cotton mill. Supposedly it was the first cotton mill in Augusta Ga. And a pic of him , Daniel DeBruce Hack. He moved from Massachusetts in the 1830's.

 

[wausaubob]

After battles CSA farriers collected shoes from dead horses. No other source for premade shoes existed.

View attachment 550429
Patent drawing for horseshoe making machine.

On the other hand, the horseshoe machine patented in 1835 cranked out 3,600 an hour for the Union Army. This short article from American Farrier is an eye opener.

Link:

How Horseshoes Helped Win the Civil War

While Scotsman Henry Burden was a prolific inventor and industrialist who played a major role in the Civil War, his vital contributions are generally unknown. Many of his inventions helped the North, but the design and perfection of a horseshoe-making machine was his most important one. As a...

www.americanfarriers.com

Author Wilson stated the US did not put horseshoes out to bid. There was one company that was dominant and the army ordered from them.

 

[wausaubob]

A couple of portable steam engines on the docks at City Point, Va., 1864-1865, by Andrew J. Russell.

View attachment 550578
National Archives 111-B-691

Rich Hochadel
seeingthecivilwar.com

I wonder what they were used for.

 

[G Low]

I wonder what they were used for.

You would think they were self propelled but those seem to have a pull handle for steering.
They could be used to power conveyor belts loading or unloading ships.

 

[wausaubob]

Steam engines combined heat, water and vibration. They needed constant maintenance. As the naval engineer Benjamin Isherwood observed, a steam engine that broke down frequently and needed special skilled repairs, was not very useful on a ship cruising the world's oceans. Creating a steam engine is only the first step. And with respect to steam power, the world's big cities, such as New York/Brooklyn had the advantage. Wherever there was the most work that city could attract the top engineers.

 

[wausaubob]

You would think they were self propelled but those seem to have a pull handle for steering.
They could be used to power conveyor belts loading or unloading ships.

Or a lift cable to pull a wagon up the first hill.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Author Wilson stated the US did not put horseshoes out to bid. There was one company that was dominant and the army ordered from them.

Indeed there was.

Link:

How Horseshoes Helped Win the Civil War

While Scotsman Henry Burden was a prolific inventor and industrialist who played a major role in the Civil War, his vital contributions are generally unknown. Many of his inventions helped the North, but the design and perfection of a horseshoe-making machine was his most important one. As a...

www.americanfarriers.com