Henry Burden’s Horseshoe-Making Machine

How the lowly nail kept a nation growing.

By Sam Moore
Published on October 1, 2007
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An early 1900s postcard view of Henry Burden’s water wheel that was, by that time, derelict, having been abandoned in the 1890s.

Henry Burden was a prolific inventor, but it was his horseshoe machine that made a mark in history as a key factor in the Union’s victory during the Civil War.

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of the shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of the horse, the rider was lost;
For want of the rider, the message was lost;
For want of the message, the battle was lost;

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