Video
Civil War Earthworks
Transcript
[audio description] Against a black backdrop the National Park Service Arrowhead logo stands above the words Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Against a dark gray backdrop are the words the 157th Commemoration of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Civil War Earthworks. Hello and welcome to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
My name is Ranger Amanda and today we are bringing you programs about the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain as part of the 157th Commemoration events that are held virtually this year. Hopefully next year we'll be able to see you in person. But we're doing a variety of different programming both yesterday and today that are going to be talking about the battle here and various topics on the Civil War that took place here around Kennesaw Mountain and literally throughout the entire eastern part of the United States and other areas, as well. So we're glad that you're able to enjoy and visit with us today. Today, I’m standing in a grassy area and behind me you will actually see some like rolling terrain and rolling hills um covered with grass and then right behind that you're actually going to even see, kind of a wooded area that is part of that, as well. Now the interesting thing about these small rolling hills is they're not hills at all. They're actually part of the earthworks that we preserve here at Kennesaw Mountain. And that's actually what I’m going to be talking to you about today is earthworks, their construction, and how they were used throughout the Civil War. But specifically here, what will become the park. So right where we're at, we're in the area of the park that is known as Cheatham Hill And we're not too far from the parking location of that spot. And right at this point, you actually have the breastworks that are for Confederate artillery positions. And then off to my, kind of left, and behind me is the earthworks, which were to make sure the infantry soldiers for the Confederates were protected. Now this is an aspect where both Union and Confederate soldiers are going to be using this type of technique all throughout the war. Now when we think in the modern time frame, when we think about wars prior to the 1900s, and even to some point in the early 1900s, we think about two armies shoulder to shoulder marching towards each other and firing. This is a very traditional common type of military tactic that was used throughout Europe and even into the United States or those areas that would become the United States. But one of the other aspects that were used is going to be earthen fortifications. And the dictionary definition of a earthwork or a military earthwork is a construction form chiefly of earth for the protection against enemy fire used both offensively and defensively in military operations. And so, we see that throughout the Civil War, specifically. Now as you se, learn various types of American history, it is pretty common to see about different types of earthen fortifications throughout history in Europe, as well as, in the United States. Every major American conflict that took place on what would become a United States soil had some type of earthen fortification that was used. Literally from the French and Indian War, all the way up until the Mexican Wars and things of that nature. So, you have this technique, that's going to be used historically throughout United States history, even before we were a country. Now it, the first really known or believed to be known earthwork or fortified earthen location is going to be Fort Caroline and this was in 1562 in Florida. And that was actually, the French were using that in order to protect themselves from Spanish colonization in the Florida areas. So that is kind of our first introduction in the United States of, or what would become the United States, of earthen fortifications.
Now during the American Civil War or just be, before the American Civil War, in 1824, a gentleman by the name of Dennis Hart Mahan, he is going to become a professor of science and engineering and science of warfare at West Point. Now this man is very important because he is going to literally train generations upon generations of soldiers that graduated from West Point. And his techniques and his styles is what is really going to be seen during the American Civil War as you get into earthworks. So please, remember that name. He is going to be highly important and his techniques and styles are going to be used for defensive measures in order to protect major cities like Washington D.C. and Petersburg, of these elaborate earthen fortifications to protect these cities, especially during the Civil War. So, this is some of the things that you have a smaller scale and even these large defenses. Now earthworks, of course, can be very technical, like what I just mentioned regarding cities.
But also in addition to that, they can be constructed fairly quickly on fields of battle. So here at Kennesaw Mountain, we are part of what's known as the Atlanta Campaign. And as the Union and Confederate troops move south along the Western Atlantic Railway down through towards the city of Atlanta from Chattanooga, they're going to set up a variety of battle lines. And each one of those, they will construct new earthworks in order to protect themselves. And so here at Kennesaw Mountain is a highlight of that type of construction that took place all throughout this area. And we are just one of many places across the country that have these types of fortifications. Now an earthwork is kind of an interesting thing. You think, okay, what is an earthwork? Many people think, maybe it's very similar to the trenches used in Europe during World War One. And it does have some similarities to that. But what I’m going to talk about right here is kind of the different aspects of those. And you actually see a good aspect of each one of the construction points here at Kennesaw. So, one of the, there's different portions of the construction. So, the first thing you have is the parapet. Now the parapet, if you see off to my right, your left, this hill that goes up that looks like it's mowed. That is actually prior to the breastworks and that is part of the parapet. It is a protective mound of earth. Now, the second part of it is going to be a ditch and you can actually see that behind me. The ditch that goes down and even some of the areas behind me where you kind of have those natural rolling ditches of those hills, or that what are actually earthworks. And this is actually where they remove the earth from the ground to make the parapet. So, you have to get the dirt from somewhere. So, you're going to dig up the, um, dig the ditch in order to make the parapet and allow a soldier to stand behind it. So remember, these are high enough where soldiers are going to be able to protect themselves. So, the ditches are pretty extensive. Then you have the fill. Now the fill are logs and fence rails and in, in stones and anything that they can find while they're digging these ditches and, to create support. And to make sure that everything is still being able to make, compact and make it more strong and defensive.
Then, um, the revetment (sorry if I do pronounce these things wrong) is a retaining wall. So right behind, you would have this big pile of dirt, but it's that retaining wall of logs. So that when a soldier steps up to the earthwork, he will be able to not have a pile of dirt fall back on him. So, this is going to be logs and planks and stones and things where it holds that dirt into place. But the soldiers that are behind it are going to be able to move back and forth freely and won't have the fear of the collapse of the dirt come back upon them. Now, you'll hear one of our rangers talk about it later as well, the abatis. Now the abatis is what is um, as I look at my notes, fallen trees with the crowns facing the oncoming enemy. And these, the tips of those fallen trees would be sharpened and be put into place and to make an obstacle. And it's going to be out in front of the earthwork.
So that's one more obstacle for the line that is moving forward to have to get over. So, you're going to have broken down limbs and sharpened points and really making an obstacle where a group of soldiers, of infantry soldiers, just cannot move very easily up a placement towards an earthwork. Then you have the palisades or the Chevaux de Frise. And this is a thinner pointed sticks that could be used instead of an abatis. So, what it is, is kind of a like a log and then you have smaller branches that are stuck into it and the sharpened points. This is actually going to be a precursor to um what we will eventually know and, and come to know as barbed wire. So barbed wire did not exist during this time and this is kind of that precursor even though it is very kind of rustic in the concept of that. But this is going to cause another obstacle where infantry soldiers, as they're trying to get to the actual earthwork themselves, get to.
Now on the actual earthwork, the actual mound of dirt, the parapet portion of it- along the top would be a head log. And literally this is a log that is going to be placed on top. But there's going to be a few inches between the mound of dirt and that log so that infantry soldiers, specifically, could put their the muzzle of their musket out and be able to fire at it. But then when the enemy, on whatever side you're on, would fire back you still had an area that would protect your head. So, these were the constructions of the earthwork. Like I said, now this looks like just rolling hills, but they were elaborate systems that were going to be set up and they could be built a variety of ways. Obviously picks and shovels for really extensive earthworks or if they were in a rush, if the soldiers were in the rush, they could literally take off their bayonets from their muskets and start digging a ditch or digging a hole in order to protect themselves and work closely together. We've even had mentioned- There's even mentioning in records of people taking maybe bowls and, and kind of scooping away the dirt. So this is, can be a hasty construction, but also can be very extensive and elaborate depending upon what your need was. Now, of course, there's always a purpose for these fortifications and we talked about it, of course, as I’ve talked about this this, the construction but the main reason was to protect soldiers from the enemy firing on them. So, Union soldiers would be protected; Confederate soldiers. Of course, the Union had to leave the safety of their earthworks in order to charge the Confederate fortifications. But they still had that protection as they were behind. Now, and they were always safe as long as they stayed back. [chuckles]
In addition, it placed obstacles in the path of the approaching enemy. So, I mentioned that especially like here at Cheatham Hill, the Union is literally not going to be able to move forward. One Confederate soldier mentions here at Cheatham Hill, that the Union forces is like a blue wave. And they would knock them down, and another blue wave would come. But as part of that, those Union soldiers also had to literally crawl over all of the different obstacles just to reach the high point of the earthwork. And, in addition, to that it's going to provide a clear range of firing. So those are three of the main reasons why you would have an earthwork. Now the placement of an earthwork also is at the military top of a hill or a crest. So, it won't be on the actual top, top but slightly down a little bit more to give them more of an advantage. And here at Kennesaw Mountain you'll see that in various places. Ironically though at Cheatham Hill they did not put it where they needed to do. And Cheatham Hill um, and what would be known at that time specifically as the Dead Angle was actually seen as a weak link in that point. Also, because it came to a 90-degree dead stop or a 90-degree angle. But, so you had some disadvantages. And a few of the disadvantages to earthworks were things like they reduce mobility. For example, as you're firing your musket out, you can only fire so low or so high. So, your range of elevation is going to depend upon where you're at. At some point, soldiers and Union soldiers actually got stuck at one spot because if they went back the Confederates could fire on them. If they went forward over the earthwork the, the Un, Confederates could get them. But there was a position where the Union, or the Confederate guns rather, could not reach because just the angle. In addition to that, even though earthworks could be constructed hastily, they also took time and energy and effort in order to construct. And third, according to Sherman, that too much time sitting in trenches could blunt the attacking spirit of an army. So, you don't want your soldiers getting lazy, you don't want them just to sit around too much and wait. Our military folks out there might be like, that's all we do is sit and wait until the orders come out. But Sherman knew that you couldn't wait too long because that spirit of going forward and moving forward could literally be stunted if you didn't move your troops out of the earthworks.
Now here at Kennesaw Mountain, like I said, we're part of the Atlanta Campaign. The Union and Confederate generals William Sherman from the Union, Joseph E. Johnston from the Confederates, they both knew about this construction. Sherman himself learned from classes at West Point under Dennis Hart Mahan [fixes pronunciation] the tactics and the maneuvers. He was able to learn from that. Johnston, himself, actually took French books and French documents and transcribed them and was self-taught about earthwork fortifications. So, both men were highly... experts were great experts at what this type of fortifications could do for their armies. And they use them strategically here at Kennesaw Mountain. Of course, the Confederates got here early. They were able to set up extensive earthworks along all the high points; what would become Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Sherman, one of the greatest portions of Union earthworks here at the park is at the 24-gun battery. So, they were able to really fight it out here. Now the construction here was done both by soldier labor, as well as enslaved labor. So obviously the Union army is not going to use enslaved labor. It's going to be using their men who are with them. But the Confederates actually went out into the community of Marietta and the surrounding area and would go to slave owners and literally rent these individuals to help them construct their earthworks here at Kennesaw Mountain.
So, we have this extensive, extensive, elaborate network. We have roughly over 11 miles of earthworks that are protected here at Kennesaw Mountain. And you may think, well what we are doing in order to protect them? Well number one, we maintain them. We have various projects in, in order to get them, um do preservation work on them. We take a look, it might not look like tree removal, but we have items in place and projects in place in order to help in those preservation effo, efforts. One of the biggest things that we can do as a community in order to preserve this history, this natural historic landscape, is by remaining on the trails; enjoying the earthworks from the safety of the trails; not climbing on them. Obviously, it's illegal to dig in the park as federally protected land. But that is what's going to help, is prevent erosion by not causing new social trails; staying on the designated trails. Together that's going to be the easiest way to help preserve this part of our history. That's so important, not only to our story here at Kennesaw Mountain, but overall on Civil War history as well.
I know that's a lot to take in about earthwork construction overall and in general. And so we hope you've enjoyed this program and that you're able to enjoy other programs here at Kennesaw Mountain all throughout the weekend of our 157th Battle Commemoration or Battle Anniversary you might hear us say as well. And we hope that you continue to look and watch much more of our programming. Like us on social media and always come back and visit here at Kennesaw Mountain. Thank you so much and we hope you have a great day. Bye!
[audio description] Against a dark gray backdrop are the words, Thank you for joining us for the 157th Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. For more programs, please like and subscribe to our social media sites.
Description
[Sun 9:00 am ET] As visitors walk along the trails of Kennesaw Mountain NBP, they may see small “hills” throughout the park. These “small hills” were once elaborate defensive earthworks protecting soldiers from oncoming enemy fire. Please join Ranger Amanda as she discusses the Civil War earthworks, how they played an important part in the battle, and how we can continue to protect this important historical landscape.
Duration
19 minutes, 43 seconds
Credit
NPS/ A. Corman
Date Created
06/27/2021
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