Field Fortification
Confederate engineers and work crews started digging earthworks around the Kennesaw Mountain a few days before the army fell back to this position on June 19. For the next week Southern soldiers improved their earthwork defenses despite constant rain.
The Southerners dug deep, throwing the dirt toward the Union side of the trench. The earthen wall-- called the parapet-- was topped with a braced log, leaving an open space beneath it for soldiers to shoot through. Fighting from behind these defenses, the Confederates held a great advantage over the attacking Federals during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864.
Today within Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, 11 miles of shallow trenches remain from those formidable earthworks. Help conserve these fragile resources by staying on the parks trails.
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.