The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1861-09-20
The West Point Founder ery.
'astins Cannon and Making Bonn b.Shells

Taking the row-boat ferry at West Point,
we sail up the river, under the brow of the
sturdy old Storm-king, for couple of miles,
when the town of Cold Spring opens before
Us, nesting snugly among the hills, with the
pretty Chapel of Our Lady overlooking it
Ike guardian angel. Boom goes cannon
not far from US, and shell whizzes BY, sug-
grsting an inconvenient proximity to our
heads. "What's that?" We ask of our boat
m.a; "have the rebels taken Cold Spring, or
are We ordered TO come tooo"
They are trying cannon at the foundery
sir"
All, true, the West Point foundery is loca
ted here. and it is an establishment we'll worth
looking over, though tounderies are exceed
lnsly dirty places, and this one is by no
means an exception. leave US at the foun-
dery dock, Mr. Ferryman, as it is somewhat
nearer and we will run down to see how they
progress with the great guns in which every
one is Interested nowadays"
A walk Of nearly half a mile around the
shore of little bay jutting in from the river,
brings US to number of buildings, low and
dirty, but extending over considerable space.
4 railroad connecting with the Hudson river
road runs to the foundery, and through the
various buildings, SO that cannon taken
from the lathe can he Immediately placed on
car and sent almost as fast as one of its
own messages, North or South
ORIGIN OF THE FOUNDRY,
The character Of the establishment is gen.
orally misunderstood, and few words of its
history will not be uninteresting. In the
war of 1872 great trouble was experienced
by our government in obtaining guns of Il
large calibre. There was then only one
toundery i'll the country capable of casting
cannon. More as matter of national pride
than an expectation of immediate pecuniary
profit, twelve gentlemen, headed by Hon
Gouyeneur kemble, asked for and obtained
charter for toundery. In consideration
Of lis national character it was promised a
certain proportion Of government work dur
ng the period of its charter, on condition
that it should not be located within fifty miles
Of the city Of New York. This provision
WAS probably made in order to lessen the IL
ability OF It's seizure in case Of war. They
began work in the year 1871 and in 1S47,
VT believe, the charter expired. Not being
abe TO renew it satisfactorily to themselves,
tAe business has been conducted as a private
concern. At present it is leased by Mr. Par
sott, the inventor of the gun and shell which
bear his name. The power is obtained from
a small stream called Margaret's Brook,
which flows down from the high hill just back
Of the works. AT this toundery a large va
riety Of iron works are made, from a steam
engine to cannon ball. Usually the manu-
iactuse Of sugar mills constitutes large item,
and the engine. of the ill-fated steamer Mer-
rmac, which was burned at the Norfolk navy
yard, were here built. At present, of course,
aear!y the whole force is devoted to the man
usac.ure Of implements of war.
THE DAHLGREN GUN.
They are making two forms Of guns now
he "Dahlgren, "a smooth bore, for throwing
and eight-inch shell, and also for 32-pound
a..ot. and the Parrot ritled gun, for throwing
: patent elongated shell. The Dahlgren
gun is Of particularly symmetrical form,
and is probably the best smooth bore made
The large ones weigh about 62 cwt., and have
bore of eight feet, four inches and three
;enths Of an inch. Their casting is an inter-
esllns operation.
MoLDING THE Gun.
In The first place, a pattern is made of
wood, somewhat larger than the gun,
and perhaps foot longer. This is split into
two halves, SO as to divide the "trunnions," {"
Or axles of the guns. A long iron box is
partly filled with particular kind of sand
with little clay mixed with it, to make i,
press doAn firmly. Onehalf of the pattern
is then placed in the box, its flat side being
level with the lge OF the box. 1t is tnen
filed around with dirt, pounded down very
hard. The dirt is carefully pressed around
the edge Of the pattern, so as to make it al
clean and hard. The pattern being removed
The impression of its form remains in the
sand. The inside Of this mold is WASHED
With clayed water and fine charcoal, to pre-
vent the iron sticking to the stand. The
other half Of the pattern undereoes the same
operatlon in another box. But this is not all
l! molten iron is poured into tube, the all
las to work its way up through the iron, Of
Zen causing air-bubbles, which would be yer,
dangerous to the strength Of the gum
therefore, channel has to be formed at tn,
SIDE Of one Of the boxes, to allow the iron t
., poured into. From this it forces its way
c"sh channels into the bottom, and grad
ualy fills up to the top. When these mold
are completed, one box is placed on the othe
and securely screwed together. The mold
a0w baked hard, and then placed in a dee
pl near the furnace, with the muzzle end "
and level with the earthen floor of the foun
dery.
MIXTURE OF IRONS.
there are two requisites in the iron for