Preface
Preface T he first shot of the Civil War was fired in an argument over an unfinished coastal fort at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. During the next three years, both sides developed a keen realization that it was better to live behind a parapet, enduring the dirt, mud, baking sun, and bitter cold, than to die in the open. Fortifications of some kind played a role in all campaigns of this immense conflict. Civil War soldiers became experts in the building of field fortifications, and earthworks came to play a vital role in determining the outcome of the conflict. The Civil War ended in the ditches around Petersburg, where Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was pinned to the earth in the most sophisticated system of field fortifications yet seen in the history of the world. Surely, the topic of fortifications is one of the more important yet to be explored by historians. I did not become aware of this aspect of Civil War military history until I moved south to take up my first full-time academic appointment, at the University of Georgia, in 1986. Driving back and forth between Indiana and Georgia took me by many battlefields of the Atlanta campaign. I was amazed to find remnants of earthworks and became fascinated with them, how they came to be there, and who had built them. They are tangible links, of a quality different from that of letters, diaries, or memoirs , with the Civil War past. What followed was a massive research project that took me to many places over the next fifteen years. During that time, I visited a total of 303 battlefields and fortification sites of the Civil War and found remnants of earthworks or masonry forts at 213 of them. Of the 303 sites visited, 136 are relevant to the eastern campaigns. I found remnants of earthworks or masonry forts at 94 of the eastern sites. Additional visits to non–Civil War military sites have helped to set the conflict in perspective. I have visited thirty-three places in the United States, most of which are related to pre– Civil War military operations. Further perspective was gained by examining sites outside the United States. I have been fortunate in seeing a large variety of earthen and masonry fortifications, as well as battlefields, in nine countries. Sites in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, xii Preface India, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Sweden have proved to me that the similarities in fortification use and style are more important than the differences , when seen within a global context. The remnants of prehistoric earthen forts in England are similar to the remains of Civil War fieldworks, and the engineers of eighteenth-century India obeyed the same imperatives as American engineers in laying out their masonry forts to conform to the lay of the land. By taking me to so many interesting places across the South, this project has given me the widest possible exposure to the varied climate, terrain, and vegetation upon which the drama of the Civil War was played out. Such a comprehensive view of the landscape of the war is necessary if one is to gain a full appreciation of its magnitude, the varied problems faced by field commanders , and the enormous difficulties surmounted by ordinary soldiers. While struggling through the swampy bottomlands of Mississippi, digging through the coastal sand near Charleston, or climbing up the vertical slopes of Rocky Face Ridge, the Civil War soldier of both sides mastered a wide variety of landforms. There simply is no substitute for field visits to military sites. Examining the remnants of earthworks answered many important questions that are not addressed in the voluminous primary literature. While many officers and men described earthworks in their letters, diaries, and memoirs, they did not address all topics relevant to understanding how fieldworks were con- figured, how the diggers dealt with rocky outcroppings, and how they accommodated other features in the landscape. Existing maps often fail to detail the finer points of construction. I have found that, although a marvelous and valuable technological aid, even satellite positioning can only identify the area and general outline of trench systems. Details in a fieldwork small enough to accommodate a single soldier do not appear on maps or satellite images. One must walk through the woods, compass and notepad in hand, in all sorts of...
OR
Buy This Book in Print