Building a Civil War Period Traveling Forge

By David Einhorn

Shown above is a reproduction Civil War period Traveling Forge built by David Einhorn a participant on this discussion forum, and the author of the book Civil War Blacksmithing , and a member of the Blacksmith Guild of Central Maryland.

An important step in constructing a traveling forge is to acquire a copy of Captain Albert Mordecai 1850's measured drawings and specifications, such as those drawings reproduced within Field Artillery Traveling Forge Book No. 61, that was used by manufacturers to construct them. It would also be extremely useful to acquire a copy of the Ordnance Manual of 1863.

Captain Mordecai and His Drawings

Captain Mordecai produced these drawings around the 1850s as the result of his commission from the U.S. government to examine the equipment that existed in Europe at the time and to produce standardized drawings for the factories to produce equipment for the army that had interchangeable parts. The equipment that was expected to accompany the No. 1 cannon carriage was designed to have the same wheel base as the No. 1 cannon carriage so that the Traveling Forges, Battery Wagons, and Caissons could maneuver and follow the No. 1 cannon carriage where ever it could travel.

My Appreciation to

• Jim Baldwin for his kind and generous donation of the understraps.
• Dwight Neely for his wonderful assistance in acquiring and installing the iron tires.
• Jay Reakirt and Tom Alexander for sharing their thoughts, suggestions and information learned from their experiences of constructing their traveling forges.