Horseshoeing

“Horseshoeing in the army. Not like the country blacksmith, by the highroad upon the skirt of the village, with children peering around, and all men, from the squire to the poorly paid minister, stopping to get his services or to chat, does the army smith ply his labors. But even with his toils and risks he is better off than the toiling craftsman in the close lanes of the city, and does his needed labor under the shady tree or leafy roofing of a rustic shed in summer, and in the warmest nook he can find in winter, he will doubtless in other years recount to his wondering grandchildren the story of the great battles in Virginia, if he does not attribute the final success to his own handiwork. The regular army forge is a four-wheeled carriage, the front, or limber, of which is like that of a caisson, bearing a box about four feet long by two in width, containing the anvil, tongs and other implements, with a limited supply of iron for immediate use; on the rear wheel is a box containing the bellows, worked by a lever. In front of this is a cast-iron ash pan for the fire, with a sheet-iron back. On the stock is a vise, and the back of the box is a receptacle for coal. The whole is very compact, and on the march takes up very little room, the men riding on the limber box."— Frank Leslie, 1896

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