Scope_of_Work_for_Wiard_6_and_12_pounder_artillery_carriages_(1).docx

Scope of Work Metal Display Cannon Carriage for Norman Wiard Rifles (e.g. both calibers) Shiloh National Military Park

The work of this project shall consist of providing all labor, supplies, materials and equipment for the manufacture of a metal display cannon carriages to mount the Wiard semi-steel 6-pounder rifle and the Wiard semi-steel 12-pounder rifle.

The metal display carriage shall conform in all respects with specifications listed in Norman Wiard’s System of Artillery (1863); unless otherwise stated in the following scope of work. These carriages had high, wide-spread cheeks which permitted the rifles to achieve a greater range in elevation than standard field carriages, as well as other unique carriage design features. Shiloh National Military Park preserves and displays both sizes of Wiard rifles in its historic field artillery collection, so bids should be specific to the cost per carriage to furnish complete full scale carriages made to Norman Wiard’s original design specifications for his 6-pound and 12-pound rifles.

Other various differences exist between Wiard’s carriage design and standard carriages. The cheeks of the carriage, although they rest on top of the axle, were connected by “U” bolts beneath it for added strength. This permitted the greater elevation and allowed one carriage to be shoved under another to conserve space during shipment by rail or boat transportation. The cheeks were also strapped with an iron band that could be tightened to counteract the common and eventual wood shrinkage.

Instead of the customary trail plate, which had a tendency to dig into the ground during recoil and thus forming a hole that adversely effected subsequent aiming, Wiard designed his trail plate to be almost flat. This permitted the trail to slide rather than dig, and to ensure it slide straight, Wiard affixed a narrow, metal keel which cut a shallow groove to prevent the trail from slewing to the side during recoil.

Wiard likewise devised a new braking method for his carriage. The conventional method to slow descent on steep hills was to stop the carriage and chain one or both wheels to prevent rotation. This method took considerable time and was hard on the iron tires since prolonged sliding would wear one spot on the wheel. Wiard designed rather a metal shoe linked to the stock by chain. While the carriage continued to roll, the shoe was dropped into the road where the carefully measured chain stopped it exactly under a wheel. The wheel then rode on top of the shoe without its further rotating. Then, at the bottom of the hill, the brake was released by tripping a special link in the chain; this permitted enough added length in the chain for the wheel to roll off the shoe, which could be drawn back aboard the carriage and be, without stopping, reset for its next necessary use.

The wheels of Wiard carriages also were unique. They were constructed with a number of bolts and wedges which could be adjusted to overcome wood shrinkage, a constant concern in conventional wheels.

Naturally, for gun exhibit and display use on Shiloh National Military Park, the modern exception to Wiard’s original unique carriage design is the requirement to acquire an all-metal carriage that can stand up to extended long term outdoor battlefield exhibit of Shiloh’s Wiard gun collection. This dictates that what was once originally made of wood (e.g. basic Wiard wood carriage components) in the construction of these gun carriages must now be cast in metal to meet long term public display goals under cyclic preservation maintenance conditions confronting their continued display on the park.

Although the park will display these carriages in static field exhibit on the battlefield, the unique design components cited above that Wiard designed for his carriage (e.g. “U” bolts under the axle, straps around the entire cheeks for tightening, unique flat trail plate with keel, specific braking chain with shoe and quick link release mechanism, and the unusual bolts and wedges he designed into the wheels to counter wood shrinkage) need to be represented in the production of the desired metal carriage.

1. The contractor shall cast the primary components of the Wiard carriage from aluminum; with reproduced metal hardware components (parts) cast in ductile iron or steel.

2. Only aluminum, ductile iron, steel and bronze components and parts will be used on the carriage. All carriage components must conform to original ordnance specifications drafted by Norman Wiard in 1863 for dimensions, length, width, thickness, etc. Thus, all major components (wheels, cheeks, trail, axle, etc.) must be cast full scale to Wiard’s historic specifications for each specific carriage, to mount the 6-pounder Wiard rifle and the 12-pounder Wiard rifle.

3. No makers, manufacturers, vendors or contractors, etc. stamps, medallions, markings, or engravings shall be placed or affixed to the carriage.

4. The contractor shall ensure the carriage is ground and sanded so that no seams from the casting method are present on any component or part of the carriage.

5. Carriages will be etched, prepped and painted with a rust inhibitors and finished with two coats of 100% acrylic olive drab (representing what would have been wood components) and gloss black paint (on parts which would have been iron on original gun carriages).

6. The finished carriage, crafted to conform to specifications detailed in Wiard’s System of Artillery (1863), shall be capable of supporting the weight of the original tube it is designed for – in this case both the Wiard 6-pounder rifle or the Wiard 12-pounder rifle.

7. No substitution of materials and/or design shall be made without the prior approval of the contracting officer.

8. The government (United States National Park Service) shall have up to seven days to perform a final inspection upon delivery of the carriage to the site (Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee). The contractor agrees the carriage shall be returned at the contractor’s expense if not meeting specifications, and the purchase agreement shall be cancelled.

9. The contractor shall warrant all parts and labor for a period of two years from the date of acceptance of delivery of the carriage. The contractor shall replace without cost to the government any part of the carriage which fails due to manufacturing or material defect during the warranty period. All costs of transportation of the carriage for repair covered by the warranty will be at the expense of the contractor.

For more information on this project, please contact Stacy D. Allen, Chief Park Ranger, Shiloh National Military Park, by phone at 731-689-5275.