Some of the men have become enamored of different games of cards, but I rarely play. I don't have enough money to be squandering it. As a Sergeant I do get paid a little more than the privates, still it is not much. Six pounds a month does not go very far when prices are so high. Some of the farmers in the area have become quite avaricious.

I fear that the British do not have a very high opinion of our prowess. Yesterday, a platoon of them, under the command of a leftenant tried to march to the top of our hill. They were repulsed at no loss to ourselves, however eight of His Majesty's finest were left laying dead upon the field. Our troops promptly cleaned the field, collecting the Brown Bess', cartridge boxes and all of the other equipment as well. They even got a drum! Fortunately, their drummer boy was not injured, but he apparently decided that he could run faster without the drum. We also took the time to give the fallen a Christian burial.

This morning, Company C's supply wagon broke a wheel. They brought the wagon back, using a skid. When they brought the wheel to me, I saw that two of the spokes were broken. Robert had some wood that he thought could be used, so I pulled the steel tire from the wheel, removed the felloe that held the two broken spokes, and gave them to Robert. He made new spokes in less than an hour. He is very good at his work. After making the new spokes, he cleaned the broken ends out of the felloe and removed the rest of the broken spokes from the hub.

Installing the new spokes, and driving the felloe into place, he soon had the wheel repaired. I tested the tire against the wheel. The wheel has shrunk a bit since we left home, but not enough for me to need to upset the tire.

I dug a hole in the ground for the hub of the wheel, so that the wheel would lie flat on the ground. Since I didn't have an old grindstone to use for a wheel stone, this seemed to me to be the best method I could use.

Then I built a circular fire on the ground, close to where the wheel was laying and laid the tire on it. Placing more wood on top of the tire, I heated the steel tire till it was hot enough that an oak stick would "slip" when pressed against the tire. That is caused by the end of the stick charring.

Robert and I lifted the tire from the fire with tongs, and laid it on top of the wheel. Using tire dogs and hammers we quickly fitted the tire to the wheel. We then rolled the tire in the stream to cool it.

I'm pleased to say that the tire is a very snug fit. That is how it should be. Some blacksmiths will drill a hole through the tire between each two spokes and set a bolt into place to hold the tire to the wheel. Master John says that is the sign of a lazy smith! A properly fitted tire on a properly made wheel does not need such a contrivance.

The wagon maker at home makes his wagons very well. His wheels only need three pieces of metal. A band on each end of the hub, called a hub band and a tire to hold the wheel together.

Some wagon wheels are more complicated, requiring as many as 14 different iron fittings. Most of the wagons from the Conestoga Valley of Pennsylvania are like that. But our wagon maker believes that simpler is better, and I'm inclined to agree with him. Why some of the Conestoga wagons have 117 different fittings, in addition to 84 carriage bolts, 50 or 60 wood screws and 8 to 12 feet of chain! That's a LOT of iron to work for just one wagon! Our wagons are a little smaller than the Conestoga wagons, too. That makes them cost a little less and also makes them easier to work on.

From the time the wagon was brought to us till we had the wheel back in place, we took a little over three hours. Pretty quick work, actually. The teamster stood by to help, but there was little for him to do.

Since I have finished all of the repair work, I've had time to make a few things. I've made cook sets like the one Robert and I have for each of the companies, and one for the headquarters group as well. There was enough scrap iron on the battle field for all of that. I also now have about twice as much iron as I left home with. I noticed that Robert's hammer was getting pretty battered, so I made him a new one. Several times I have heard him complain that the claws on his hammer were not curved enough. So I made his new one slightly different from the one that he has been using. I curved the claws a little more, and made it just a little heavier. I didn't say anything about it, just worked on it when he was not around. When it was finished, I scraped all of the fire scale from it, then used sand from the stream bed to polish it. I didn't put a handle on it, knowing that he would want to make his own. Then when his back was turned, I laid it quietly on his work table. He was quite surprised, and very appreciative. He used one of the broken spokes from the wheel we had repaired to make a handle.

Steps in making a claw hammer. Click for iForge demo

Most of the companies have hired camp followers to do the cooking and laundry for them. Few of the camp followers are as good as they should be. We hired one to do our laundry, but she stays in her own area. I suspect some of the teamsters visit her on occasion, but I steer a wide course from that.

I will wait for Dorothea. I wish there were some way she could write to me, but she has no idea where I am. Well actually she may know where I am since Private Jones should be home by now.

Private Gallagher, our cook, is doing an excellent job turning army rations into something that can be eaten with pleasure. He has asked me to make several small things for him. Some hooks to hang over a branch that he has tied to two trees near where he keeps our fire, a small spatula to turn things with and other little things. I also made him a cook set similar to the one I made for Robert and me, but I made it a little more elaborate than ours. I made him several more "S" hooks, and a spit as well.

Robert took the tailgate from a wrecked wagon and made legs for it like his saw horses. (I collected most of the iron fittings, too.) So Cookie (as he has come to be called) now has a table to work on. He has that sitting under the bar where he hangs his utensils. We "found" a wagon cover on the same wrecked wagon which we helped him rig as a shelter over that area, so he can cook in the dry even when it is raining. All of us in the wagon train chipped in a few shillings each and got him a frying pan and a Dutch oven. As a reward, he actually worked out a way to make biscuits in the Dutch oven and served them with fried eggs and gravy for breakfast the next morning!

We eat well! A couple of the companies have tried to lure him away, but we (the other teamsters and I) persuaded them to leave him alone. We do hear that we may not be eating as well before long. Most of the rations we brought from home have been used, and the quartermaster has not been able to get much from the Army. So our men have started doing a little hunting when they have time, as well as scrounging from the countryside around. So far we have not missed any meals.

The Colonel did find a wagon for his use. Robert and I made some changes in it for him. We fixed the interior with a place for a bed, and also built a desk along one side. The desk folds up so it is compact when traveling and nothing can fall out. But it un-folds easily and has a writing shelf and several pigeon holes for storage of different reports and papers. We changed the seat of the wagon so that the pavilion which belongs to him can be stored under it. It only took a little over a day to do, and he seems to be quite proud of it.

This afternoon, we heard a rumor that we are to be moved from here to a place called West Point. Since we are a demi-regiment, we can move a little faster than the larger units. But there are many rumors floating around the camp and most of them prove to be false.

Well, the rumor was true! At morning formation, Colonel Callahan announced that we are going to be transferred to West Point to guard the arsenal being built there. It's a little over 200 miles from here, so it will take about a week to get there.

But the best news is that we will be passing right through our home town. And since we are not due at West Point until the 10^th of July, we will be able to spend a day or two at home. When he told us that, you should have heard the troops cheer. This blacksmith was heard, I am sure!

We leave in the morning. Robert and I have packed almost everything. All of the troops are excited. There is a great deal of cleaning and polishing going on. Everyone wants to present the best appearance possible. We will be two days on the road till we get home, and the colonel has said that if the troops step out smartly, he will try to let us have three days at home instead of two. I don't think there will be many stragglers!

I had a terrible time going to sleep last night! I kept going over everything in my mind, making sure that Robert and I had packed everything. Cookie has packed up most of his equipment. He had plenty of room in his wagon, and was able to carry everything except his cook table. Robert took it apart for him, and it's being carried in the wagon belonging to Company D.

He had a quick breakfast for us this morning. And we were on the road shortly after daylight. The colonel had admonished us to make a good appearance leaving camp, and we did. The drummer from each company gathered at the front of the formation, and the fifers as well. With our flags snapping in the breeze, and our fife and drum "corps" playing well, we looked and sounded very martial as we left.

There was no need for the colonel to worry about the troops stepping out. They stepped out so well that we are almost half way home! We passed the tavern where we stopped on the way to Boston, and kept going. We are not where we camped the first night, but we are not far from there either. At evening formation, the colonel said that if we moved as well tomorrow as we did today, that we will stop about 5 miles from home and spend the night tomorrow. That way we will have plenty of time to clean and shine so we can look good for our families when we march into town. I dread the thought of being that close to Dorothea, without being able to see her, but the idea of marching into town the next morning with everything shining is just too hard to resist! From the comments I hear around camp, most of the troops feel the same way. There is much checking over uniforms, and polishing of leather going on as well!

Cookie had prepared sandwiches, so we did not have to build fires for lunch. We simply pulled to the side of the road and ate. When we camped, he was quick to start his fire. A couple of the teamsters had volunteered to set up their wagons alone, so that their partners could help Cookie. Within an hour of stopping, our supper was ready for us.

I want to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Alsop and see if it is possible to get a promotion for Cookie. He does an unusually good job, working with second rate rations. He is always up before anyone else, having the guards wake him up at least an hour early. The guards make sure that his fire is kept going, and that he has plenty of wood. In turn, he keeps a pot of coffee close to the fire all the time.

Tonight when we stopped, there was no pasture near, so for the first time we arranged our wagons in a circle. We left a place between two wagons, to lead the teams in and out. The guards will walk around the outside. We closed the gap with a couple of poles.

One more day before I see Dorothea!