Well firstly let me say good luck Branson! So what is the story behind this anvil? What's this 'Mountain Howitzer' name all about?
A friend and I are putting together a complete, working set of the tools used by the artificers who were assigned to mountain howitzer units during the Civil War. A mountain howitzer is a small, largely anti-personnel cannon that was originally designed to be taken apart and carried on pack animals. The reason for this was to enable horse artillery (in which all members moved on horseback) to move as quickly as cavalry, and also that cavalry could carry with them such a weapon. Speed of deployment was all.
Light artillery artificers were accompanied by a 1200 pound (unladen) battery wagon to carry long tools and spare parts, and a mobile or traveling forge both of which were drawn by six horse teams. These were highly mobile, but nowhere near able to travel as quickly as cavalry.
The first mountain howitzer was the model of 1839. In 1841, a series of changes were instituted in the gun carriage and in the tools carried. These were used throughout the Civil War and into the Indian Wars periods. Photos of mountain howitzers used and captured during the Civil War show both types of gun carriage.
All the tools, for both smithing and carpentry, were carried on pack animals. The forge and bellows itself folded up to fit in one of the boxes, another carried the tools and a special anvil. These amounted to a travelling shop for all maintenance and repair and farrier work, one that could move as fast as cavalry or mounted artillery.
We bought a set of period plans and dimensions of all the equipment, which we are building and acquiring. I've seen pictures of one surviving forge, and rather doubt that many, if any other of these survived. The pan was constructed of .10 thick sheet iron, and I imagine that in the ensuing years, simply burned out.
It's taken a years worth of research to find out exactly what the anvil looked like. The drawings made for the 1841 plans are different from the anvils as have been found, including the one in the photos of the known surviving kit.