Unicorn Forge Ironworks
Building a Civil War period Traveling Forge
I have been working on constructing a Civil War period Traveling Forge since October 2006. This is taking place in a small town in Pennsylvania, not far from Gettysburg.
Like the cannons, each Traveling Forge was pulled by six horses, and each right-side horse was ridden and directed by an out-rider responsible solely for the care of his pair of horses. The smiths/artisans rode as passengers or according to some sources walked. Some forges and their companion battery wagons were outfitted and designated specifically and solely for support of an artillery battery, its more than 100 horses and equipment. Other traveling forges were assigned for service to the army in general, for service of their horses, leather tack, supply wagons, etc. Also, like the cannon, the canvas strapped to the top of the limber chest was for covering the carriage as protection from the elements. Traveling Forges were used because they could, in addition to the fireplace and bellows, carry a vise and many hundreds of pounds of tools, coal, metal and horse shoes. It would have been illogical and a logistical nightmare for an army on the move, to carry enough folding sheet metal forges and these supplies on pack trains during normal flat-land operations.
Plans for the Traveling Forge were drawn by Captain Albert Mordecai in the 1850s as the result of a federal government commission directing him to research European military materials in existence at the time, and to develop drawings of standardized equipment for contractors to build equipment for use by the U.S. military.
If you are interested in constructing a Traveling Forge, I highly recommend purchasing a copy of this copy of Captain Mordecai's plans while it is still available in print. I believe you will find that the book Field Artillery Traveling Forge book No. 61 is a bargain for $20.00 (plus shipping). I acquired the newer edition of the Traveling Forge book from the Regimental Quartermaster store located at 49 Steinwehr Ave. Gettysburg PA 17325 (717-338-1864). These books are available from other merchants selling supplies to reenactors as well as from the publisher directly (Antique Ordnance Publishers, PO Box 610434, Port Huron, MI 48061). I hope that you will purchase a copy and support the publisher's efforts to make these plans available at so reasonable a price.
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