Another fascinating aspect of
the investigations at Fort Hunter has been revealed – the possibility that
metalworking was taking place at the site. Fort Hunter, a county park located
approximately 6 miles north of the capitol in Harrisburg along the Susquehanna
River, was the site of British fortifications during the French and Indian War
(1755-1763). Fort Hunter served not only to protect the local inhabitants, but
also as a supply station for Fort Augusta, located 40 miles north in current
Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Fort Hunter’s history doesn’t
begin or end with its role in the war however. It also served as a home, a
farm, and an agricultural-industrial site for more than 200 years. The earliest
European residents of this spot, the Chambers brothers, erected a grist and saw
mill along Fishing Creek near its confluence with the Susquehanna. The success
of this enterprise led to others such as a blacksmithing/gunsmithing shop.
It has been difficult to
determine that smithing activities were taking place at Fort Hunter since metal
objects recovered here could also relate to the occupation of the military
fort. However, materials recovered in the last few years of excavation could
help shed a new light on the subject - small bits of metal and crucible
fragments. Crucibles are sturdy ceramic vessels capable of withstanding high
temperatures that are used in the melting of metal ores and the creation of
metal objects. Historically, crucibles were made of clay, fireclay, graphite,
and silicates or combinations of these materials. Today, crucibles are made of
any materials that can withstand high heat.
Image
of a crucible in use in a furnace (Courtesy of Pixabay free downloads)
Crucibles have been in use for
thousands of years, likely from the very beginnings of metal making. Early
metallurgists used crude clay crucibles to produce and form metals with low
melting points, such as copper, lead, or bronze. As metal making advanced to
materials with higher melting points and the study of alchemy became widespread,
crucibles made of fireclays mixed with graphite and silicates became more
common. Some of the best graphite crucibles were produced in Germany from the
Middle Ages through the eighteenth century.
Base
of a graphite crucible recovered from a site in Philadelphia
(photo courtesy PHMC)
Depending upon the amount of
metal being produced and its intended use, sizes of crucibles can vary from
very small to very large. Industrial-sized crucibles are used in the production
of steel beams while tiny crucibles can be used when making delicate jewelry or
other very small objects.
Very small crucible recovered from site in Philadelphia
(photo courtesy PHMC)
A number of fragments of
crucibles were recovered from several years of excavation at Fort Hunter. These
fragments appear to come from relatively small containers of differing shapes.
Only one base fragment was recovered so it is unclear if all the crucibles had
similar flat bottoms; however, varying thicknesses and slight differences in
the rim fragments indicate that three or more different crucible vessels are represented.
The majority of the pieces exhibit buildup on the interior and exterior vessel
walls and most of them also show signs of miniscule green blobs on the
interior. The presence of green residue, or verdigris, indicates that the metal
being worked contained copper.
Fragments
of crucibles recovered from Fort Hunter excavations (photo courtesy PHMC)
A possible reason that these
crucibles were used at Fort Hunter is that gunsmithing was taking place here in
the mid-eighteenth century. Research indicates that James Chambers and his
sister’s husband, William Foulkes, were making Pennsylvania (or Kentucky) long
rifles at Fort Hunter in the late 1750s-early 1760s. William apprenticed in
Lancaster City, possibly to Mathias Roesser, before ending up at Fort Hunter.
Since a smithy is believed to have been in operation at Fort Hunter since the
1730s or 1740s it would have been easy for James and William to have taken over
the business.
James Chambers was killed
during Pontiac’s Rebellion and the 1764 inventory of his possessions reveals
his occupation. Chambers, whose profession is listed as a gunsmith, had tools
and items relating to that business including “Riphel Barrels”, bullet molds,
files, gun locks, cast munitions, and “Old Gunsmiths tools” as well as
blacksmiths bellows and tools, anvils, iron, steel, and “Beak Iron”. If
Chambers and Foulkes were making and repairing rifles at the site, it is
possible they would need to cast elements such as side plates and other small
brass pieces, some of which have been found at the site. The small crucibles
are likely all that was needed to make these parts.
Possible
brass gun sideplates recovered from Fort Hunter (photo courtesy PHMC)
One hurdle to the
Chambers-Foulkes gun shop theory is that it is not known that any structure(s)
stood in the location the crucibles were found prior to the fort’s construction.
So, was there a previously unknown structure standing here prior to the fort?
Another theory is that the fort itself employed a smith to keep the military guns
in repair. This fact has not yet been noted in any of the primary documentation
that has been found.
More work needs to be done on
this subject, including conducting additional research into the Chambers-Foulkes
gun making enterprise and having the crucible’s residues tested to determine
exactly what was being melted in them. In addition, there are no known examples
of Chambers or Foulkes work. If a marked piece were to be found in future
excavations it could help to identify the location of their forge.
The identification of the
crucible fragments at Fort Hunter have allowed us to expand the activities that
were conducted at this site and tell a more accurate story. Now we need to more
accurately date this activity – is it related to the Chambers-Foulkes
occupation or the military occupation.
Come visit our excavation at
Fort Hunter this fall. We work weekdays from 9:00 until 4:30. The site will be
opened September 5th for visitors and we close on October 5th.
For additional reading on
gunsmithing and blacksmithing:
Crews,
Ed
2018 The Gunsmith’s Shop. Colonial Williamsburg
Journal website, http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn00/gunsmith.cfm. The Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation.
Heckert,
Wayne and Donald Vaughn
1993 The
Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle: A Lancaster Legend. Science Press, Ephrata,
PA.
Lasansky,
Jeannette
1980 To
Draw, Upset, & Weld: The Work of the Pennsylvania Rural Blacksmith
1742-1935. Oral Traditions Project
of the Union County Historical Society, Lewisburg, PA.
The
Kentucky Rifle Foundation
2018 The Kentucky Rifle Foundation website. As
found at: http://kentuckyriflefoundation.org/, accessed May 10,
2018.
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