I naturally clambered all over this beast. Clearly there would have been a series of steps in the front so that guys could have deposited cannonballs to be heated to red-hotness (I had to climb up the furnace's face and dangle to get this picture)...unless US soldiers in the mid-19th century were an average of nine or ten feet tall? Doubtful. Anyone wishing for more about hot shot furnaces is advised to check out one of my other sites, HotShotFurnace.com, where I lavish as much love and attention upon hot shot furnaces as I do upon starforts at this site!