Bayonets Are For Digging

Constructed after June 3, this covered-way connected the main Confederate line behind to the low ground in front. A South Carolinian stationed nearby recalled that, to guard against shells continually dropping among or outside the works, soldiers burrowed like rabbits behind their earthworks and built covered-ways from their breastwork to the ground below. Within a few days, men could go the length of a regiment without the least exposure, crawling along tunnels dug with bayonets, knives, and a few worn-out shovels.

Mechanicsville, Virginia · United States