Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/151

 Reminiscences of Field Ordnance Service. 145

irom the beginning of the work, and that it was large enough in amount to supply the needs of the arsenal for months. I remember the gentleman, who owned the lumber, was very much opposed to having it cut, and forwarded a paper on the- subject to the Secretary of War through army headquarters. Colonel Baldwin, Chief Ord- nance Officer, Army of Northern Virginia, authorized me, meantime, to go on with the work. The lumber was in Richmond before the paper came back to us.

In the winter of 1864 it was impossible to obtain an adequate quantity of horseshoes and nails from the ordnance department. The cavalry, which had been with General Early during that fall, had seen severe service, and it was absolutely necessary, in refer- ence to the future, to procure in some way a supply of horseshoes and nails during the winter. We had to depend upon ourselves. I determined to establish, if possible, twenty forges in Waynesboro', Augusta county, Virginia, and have blacksmiths detailed from the army to make shoes and nails. We sent through the country and got such blacksmith tools as we were able to find. I think I got some, too, from Richmond, from the ordnance department. There was no difficulty in getting good blacksmiths out of the army. A number of men were put to work, and horseshoes and nails began to accumulate. We soon ran out of iron, however, and found that the department at Richmond could not fully supply our wants. There was a fine lot of iron at Columbia furnace, near Mount Jack- son, which was at this time in the debatable ground between the two armies. This iron was of fine quality, suitable for casting cannon as well as any other purpose. The commander of the arsenal informed me that if I could manage to get this to Richmond he would give me back in bars as much as I needed for horseshoes and nails. Trains of wagons were sent after it from Staunton, and these trains were protected by cavalry, which General Early sent for the pur- pose, and they returned in safety with the iron, which was promptly siiipped to Richmond. From this time forward our forges were fully supplied, and I think when Sheridan overhauled and dispersed our forces at Waynesboro', at the beginning of March, 1865, we had manufactured some twenty thousand pounds of horseshoes and nails. They were loaded upon the cars, which were gotten through the tun- nel, but were captured by some of Sheridan's people at or near Greenwood depot.

That same winter we carried on the manufacture of currycombs at our field park. There was a dearth of these, and my gunsmiths