On April 19, 1862, General Johnson, with General Lee’s approval, moved a regiment from Allegheny Mountain to Shenandoah Mountain. To protect themselves from Yankee bullets, the soldiers dug about a mile of trench in the rocky ground, cut down trees on the western slopes to open their field of fire toward the approaching Union Army, and built breastworks by piling logs on the downhill side of the trench and dirt on the outside of the logs. From the trench, the regiment could kneel and fire rifles without being exposed to Yankee fire.