Farrier or Black Smith Impression

[BSWBCW]

I was wondering after a friend brought it up to me, and thought it was a good idea. I am a farrier which is a person who puts on horseshoes for a living. I was thinking about maybe creating a impression of a civil war farrier or black smith that put shoes on the military horses during that time. The horse shoes were all hot fitted like some do today which means they heated up the shoes to help the fit on the hooves of the horses. So i could bring out my old coal forge and antique farrier equipment and do deminstrations. What do you all think. would that be something of interest?


Brad Beers

[Hank Trent]

Re: Impression

So i could bring out my old coal forge and antique farrier equipment and do deminstrations.

First thing that occurs to me, is it one of those with the rotary blower? If so, can you document that type to the Civil war era?

The typical military traveling forge that I'm aware of is a seriously cool thing (another less clear image here), on wagon wheels with a full-size pump bellows enclosed, but not the sort of thing that most people have just sitting around.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Re: Impression

A clearer image of the group in the last image...

[Tom Craig]

Re: Impression

Brad,

A good version of that impression would be a most welcome and correct addition to our end of the hobby. There is a lack of info on many things farrier related (such as the what the basic toolkit of the field farrier actually looked like) which could make it a challenge, but if you are up for it, I say rock on!

If you are serious, one good source to contact (at least for info on cavalry farriers) is John Tobey. You can also check with Andy German...both are members of this forum.

Good luck,
Tom Craig
1st Maine Cavalry

[John E. Tobey]

Re: Impression

Here's a few disorganized tidbits I've dredged up regarding farriers. Hope they help.

“The farrier was hard worked on a march. In camp he had a not unpleasant position; but during a campaign he was in constant demand, and had his hands full of work, under end of difficulty.” (Crowninshield, 293)

“Beauregard ‘threw himself’ here, shoeing eighteen horses in half a day” (Ide 126)

“Each cavalryman should be provided with a pair of extra horse shoes, previously fitted, one for the fore and one for the hind foot, with the necessary nails. Weekly inspection should be made to enforce this. The farrier must be required to carry his shoeing tools with him on the march, to replace the shoes as they are lost, or during the halts.” (AGO Circular 44, June 9, 1864, page 11)

[the colonel of the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry, on September 23, 1864] “…with 700 horses here I didn’t have one tolerable blacksmith. Before a horse could be shod I had to go to work and show the smiths what a good horseshoe is.” (Ford (Adams) II.199)

“On the march many horses had cast their shoes, and mine had lost one. One farrier was busy and the other unable to work. I borrowed his shoeing tools, and made my first effort at horseshoeing and when the shoe was on I passed the tools to someone else, and this practice became common in our company for the future.” [2nd Ohio, 1863] (Gause 148)

“The shoeing tools of the farrier should consist of a shoeing knife, a toe knife, a shoeing hammer, a clinching iron, a clinch-cutter, a pair of pincers, and a rasp. What is known as a buttress should never be used, nor ought a shoe be put on hot, any more than is sufficient to show that it is of the right shape.” (Brackett, 165)

John Tobey

[BSWBCW]

Re: Impression

Thanks for the briefe words from the books. and i actually have most tools from that time that i have collected. and 99% of the tools used were all hand forged which i also do. I can hot and cold fit shoes. Hot is always the way to go. Who wants too bang on cold steel? And some of the forges were small enough to just put in a wagon didnt have to be a horse drawn one. the one i have is a model made in the 1850's from the buffalo NY company. It is a hand crank for the air. its not a electric blower And i am surprised they listed it as a clinching iron. Because from my knowledge the majority of the clinch that was done was all block clinching. ill have to read more.


Brad Beers

[Hank Trent]

Re: Impression

And some of the forges were small enough to just put in a wagon didnt have to be a horse drawn one. the one i have is a model made in the 1850's from the buffalo NY company. It is a hand crank for the air. its not a electric blower

According to what I can find on the Buffalo Forge Co. in Buffalo, it was

organized by Charles F. Brunke and Charles Hammelman in 1877, to manufacture the portable forge invented by Mr. Hammelman... The concern became widely known throughout the United States and Canada, and the demand for its products grew rapidly... In the early period of the enterprise if two portable blacksmith's forges a week were made, it was thought a good output. Today [in 1908] the establishment turns out two carloads a day and more if necessary. The fan principle used in the forges has been successfully applied in the heating and ventilating apparatus, draught appliances for large boiler plants, and equipments for cleaning gases in blast furnaces.

Can you tell me more about the crank-blower forge you have, made in the 1850s in Buffalo? Or about crank-blower forges in general, in use during the Civil War? The idea was certainly ready to come on the scene, but I've not found any information yet about what companies were producing them or how common they were.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[BSWBCW]

Re: Impression

The company listing you found was a actual company. the one i had was made prior to the exsistance of that company. the crank on the forge was a wood handle that was attached too two wheels. theat cranked a belt that moved a fan blade. on coal forges you need the air to constantly circulate so that the coal stays hot the whole time. and all them wheels were attached to a small flat topped table. where there was a hole for the air to shoot up . im not sure if and how many were used during the war. but they were definatly around. most men produced there own at that time and didnt buy them. they were black smiths so they knew how to forge item. And the same thing with anvils. Back then being a black smith or a farrier was thought of a dead end job. and was as low ranked as they came where jobs were concerned. so since they were making alot of money they had to make due, like if you look at one of the pictures that were provided the guys anvil was made out of a peice of rought iron rail road track.


Brad Beers

[Hank Trent]

Re: Impression

the one i have is a model made in the 1850's from the buffalo NY company.
...
The company listing you found was a actual company. the one i had was made prior to the exsistance of that company... most men produced there own at that time and didnt buy them.

I'm confused. You said it was "from the buffalo NY company," but now you're saying it wasn't made by a company, it was homemade? How do you know it was made in Buffalo, and how did you ascertain the date?

I'm genuinely curious about those rotary crank blowers, and about historic blacksmithing/farriery in general, though I haven't actually done it myself. I had to get things made by several blacksmiths and our modern farrier when I was doing some period building a few years ago. But I'd be an example of a visitor who'd love to hang around and watch and ask what you're doing at events. :)

It seems a lot of blacksmiths who do living history demonstrations use the rotary blowers, but I've had trouble getting information from anyone about their actual 1850s-1860s use with any kind of supporting evidence. I've found a few patents on my own, but haven't run across evidence of who was actually making them or who was using them, historically. If they were a standard thing to make at home, they might be mentioned in sources like The Young Farmer's Manual, 1860, which mentions some home blacksmithing, but I can't find it. There's an often-reprinting drawing of the four walls of a tool-shed, containing everything from an anvil to a shovel plow to a lathe to a carpenter's bench, but no portable forge. The army seems to have used the larger kind, professional horse-shoers generally had horses brought to their location (with or without their owners--funny story here), and blacksmiths of course had blacksmith shops with built-in forges. Who was using rotary portable forges? Were they for repairing machinery that couldn't be moved, like in factories and mills? Were they used for traveling to horses, and in what cases would a shoer do that?

If you have the information on hand, I'm curious, but I don't want to sound like I'm demanding. If you don't have it easily accessible, no problem. I'm looking for actual documentation, because I've been burned (no pun intended!) way too many times in the past with being told reenactorisms. In just a few minutes of off-hand looking, I've provided two contemporary images of the bellows-style portable forges and an early summary history of the Buffalo Forge Co., and that's the kind of period evidence I'm hoping somebody will be able to provide about rotary portable forges in the 1850s-1860s.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Impression

Being an interminably curious person, myself, I'd add in my request to Hank's for more primary source information about portable rotary forges--we own one, but haven't been able to securely date the style to mid-century, so it only comes out for modern use.

Snipped from message:

im not sure if and how many were used during the war. but they were definatly around.

Again, great spot for primary resources. In what circumstances and situations were rotary portable forges around? What references do we have to their use?

Snipped:

Back then being a black smith or a farrier was thought of a dead end job.

Was it? In the days of draft animals, with shoes being a very needed part of that life, I can't imagine a Farrier being lowest of the low. Yes, it's dirty work, but it's vital work--hardly a dead end, though it would be a laboring job the entire time... rarely a cushy retirement in sight. I'd be glad of primary resources pointing out such a craft as "dead end".

Snipped:

most men produced there own at that time and didnt buy them. they were black smiths so they knew how to forge item.

Again, how do we know that? There gets to be a cyclical problem: if they need a forge to make a forge, then how to they get started? :) What information do we have of forge manufacture (obviously, there was some manufacture, as the Buffalo NY forge company, and patents, illustrate), sales, purchases, etc? What information do we have that speaks of "most" men making their own forges and major equipment? Where did those men get their raw materials and base equipment to make the larger pieces? How was that bought and sold?

(If it helps, think of me as a Really Pestiferous 12-year-old Boy At An Event... I've been accused of having those traits. :) I really am curious about most things!)

[BSWBCW]

Re: Farrier or Black Smith Impression

The forge i own is dated with a stamp in the base. the man who made it was the father of the man who came out with the buffalo forge company. Hope that helps first. Then to answer the rest of the question. Most stuff was made by hand just because of the use of the object and they were all black smiths so if they didnt have to buy it and they could make it easier why not? Most items that were being made such as tools,horse shoes, etc was made by them. Just like today you cant buy a horse shoe and expect it to fit right away. you have to fit it, and shape it to the horses foot. It waS a poor choice of words saying dead end. More like unwanted. Though it was a necessity for a farrier and black smith to be around not many people wanted to do it . The material im not sure. but many companys were around that sold im sure the raw material. If not they found scrap and heated it up and made what was needed, or melted and poured into a mold or a die. Like i stated earlier, alot of anvils that were used were made from a simple chunk/slab of rail road track. I also have seen men take rail road spikes, or a wood spade/wedge and make it into a hardee hole chisel.


Brad

[LindaTrent]

Re: Farrier or Black Smith Impression

Back then being a black smith or a farrier was thought of a dead end job. and was as low ranked as they came where jobs were concerned. so since they were making alot of money they had to make due

I just don't see that blacksmiths were low ranked, or a dead end job. It was a career where a person was an apprentice and gained respect throughout the years. Being an apprentice always meant doing the dirty work whether it was an apprentice blacksmith, doctor, etc. The 1863 Ohio Agricultural Report, gives a "table of the present rate of wages (1864) in the various departments of productive industry in several counties in the State." Yeah, I know, the book is a review of 1863, published in 1864. :p

Twenty of Ohio's 88 counties responded, or at least 20 are reported on in the book. I won't go into all 20 as that would use up too much bandwidth, but I will touch on a few that are representative of the list, and all four corners of the state.

Starting in SW Ohio Warren County reported blacksmiths typically earned $3/day, the only other profession in Warren County to earn more was Carriage Trimmers at $3.50. The blacksmith shares second place with the likes of gunsmiths, jewellers, masons, millers, tanners and curriers, and saddlers and harnessmakers, and several other less interesting occupations.

Here in SE Ohio, Lawrence County reported blacksmiths earned less than many of the other mechanics. Blacksmiths were paid $2.50/day, while the highest wages were paid to Puddlers $5.00! But blacksmiths continued to share their position with a lot of other highly respectable people: tanners & curriers, tailors, butchers, tinners, printers, etc.

In NE Ohio Portage County reported blacksmiths earning $2.50, but it's amazing that a gunsmith and tinner was making the same daily wage as the farm laborer $2.00, and tanners & curriers and harnessmakers were making less than the unskilled farm laborer!

In NW Ohio Van Wert County blacksmiths made $3.00/day they shared the highest paid occupation with cabinetmakers, carpenters, tinners, and gunsmiths.

My great great grandfather was a blacksmith in 1850 and 1860, then went into dry goods in 1870. In 1880 he was back as a blacksmith again, go figure. ;)

But I just don't see blacksmithing as something that they saw as a dead end, or that people just didn't want to do. I don't know if the original "not many people wanted to do it" means in military or in civilian life. There are a number of difficult jobs but I've not personally seen evidence that the job was "unwanted."

Being a blacksmith didn't just come with the pay, but generally a respected person within the society. I've heard of several blacksmiths, my gg grandfather included, who were elected to positions of respect within the community. Now that's just Ohio, and things may have been different in other areas.

Just my two cents,

Linda.

[Marc]

Re: Farrier or Black Smith Impression

A few years back at Harpers Ferry the fellow who was explaining the role of the blacksmith in the community, was asked by me about making horseshoes etc. I was told that was a Farrier's job and he was a blacksmith which is held in higher regard.

Interesting discussion since I am now studying the role of the blacksmith during the colonial period of America.

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Farrier or Black Smith Impression

Mr Beers--check your shift key; a lot of your capital letters aren't showing up. :)

Most stuff was made by hand just because of the use of the object and they were all black smiths so if they didnt have to buy it and they could make it easier why not?

I think I'm just confused, but I don't understand the above bit. By the mid-century, there's been a dramatic increase in industrialization in the US, so while many, many things are still individually made for personal use, there are also huge increases of manufactured items (listed in ads and catalogs), so I see it as a bit of an oversimplification to quantify all metal-work as so "home grown." Those smiths were not digging ore out of the ground--they had to buy raw goods at some point, and tools at some point, else we're back to that cyclical arguement again--which came first, the forge to make the hammer, or the hammer to make the forge?

Most items that were being made such as tools,horse shoes, etc was made by them. Just like today you cant buy a horse shoe and expect it to fit right away. you have to fit it, and shape it to the horses foot.

That's what I mean--a farrier might take a blank horseshoe and fit it, but where did he get the blank to start with? How much were they? How were they shipped? Did they come in different sized blanks? These are all questions my 9yo will come up with, viewing a farrier's impression, so if a person is undertaking that impression, it might serve well to prep for determined, curious 9yo boys as spectators. :)

The material im not sure. but many companys were around that sold im sure the raw material. If not they found scrap and heated it up and made what was needed, or melted and poured into a mold or a die.

Which companies? Where were they located? How much were raw metals, and how were they shipped/provided? Were there scrap yards to visit? How would a busy metalworker find time to scavenge salvage metals? Where did they gets the molds or dies?

Like i stated earlier, alot of anvils that were used were made from a simple chunk/slab of rail road track.

How many is "a lot"? What is the source for this statement? I don't mean to sound combative, but this is the Authentic-Campaigner, and the standard here is to back up statements of opinion with primary sources wherever possible. If all these anvils were being made from railroad rails, wouldn't the rail companies have something to say about it? :)

I also have seen men take rail road spikes, or a wood spade/wedge and make it into a hardee hole chisel.

Is this in a modern blacksmithing context, or a documented practice for mid-century smithing?

Cool employment facts, Linda--thanks!

[Hank Trent]

Re: Farrier or Black Smith Impression

It occurs to me that we're covering a wide range of occupations and situations here.

There's the isolated backwoods blacksmith in business for himself, who's still having trouble getting raw materials or factory goods shipped in--a situation becoming increasingly rare by the 1860s.

There's the small town blacksmith, in business for himself but also maybe with employees, who's competing with factory-produced hardware being sold at the store and shipped in by boat or rail, but is doing repair-work, shoeing horses with shoes bought by the keg, may be branching out as an agent for farm tools and machines, and may still have the community influence from when a blacksmith shop, a store and a mill were what many a village was founded around.

Then there's the employee blacksmith working in a factory with all the latest machinery, turning out those hinges and latches and such that are being sold in the store to compete with the local blacksmith.

Or the blacksmith who's kept on the payroll of a factory or mill, to keep the machinery repaired and running.

Or the farmer who had a forge and anvil like someone today might have a workshop in their basement, to make minor repairs and produce things for his own farm. Or a slave who was owned to do the same for a large plantation.

Then there are farriers--a word that now implies someone who primarily shoes horses, but in the period also included someone who did general veterinary work and not necessarily just basic shoeing. A blacksmith might shoe horses, but probably wouldn't deal with other diseases of horses, unless he was edging over into the farrier category as a side line.

So I wonder if some of the problem and confusion is that we're trying to generalize about all those different people that roughly fall in the category of blacksmith or farrier, when the income, daily work, status, tools, etc. of each would vary greatly.

By the way, there are many blacksmith's ledgers from the period around. I don't know if any are online, but they're in manuscript collections and come up for sale. I purchased and analyzed a doctor's ledger a while ago, since that's one of my primary interests, and for someone interested in studying the life of a blacksmith, I'd highly recommend it, to see what work is done daily, what raw materials are purchased, the prices, how accounts are kept, when people pay and how they pay--cash, notes, in kind, etc. Here's an example online of an analysis of a blacksmith's accounts in mid century. http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/wi...conomics.shtml. He'd be the second type I mentioned above, certainly a very typical one:

The picture of the business of A. Wilson that one receives was one of a true blacksmith participating in numerous, but very small paying manufacturing and repair jobs. That Wilson was indeed a manufacturer of small agricultural implements was also certain from this study. What was not possible to pick up from the day books and account books is the frequency of manufacture of new wagons, carriages and sleighs that Wilson's business produced. These are noted in the presentation of the census of manufacturers' records. Also not available for analysis from the account books was the significant business income Wilson received from his dealership in large agricultural implements such as reapers and threshers.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net