The Moat

A dry moat surrounded Fort Davidson on all sides. During the third and final desperate Confederate assault, Arkansas troops of Gen. William Cabell’s brigade fought their way into the dry moat and prepared to climb the wall. Hand grenades were brought from the powder magazine to drive them out. Capt. William J. Campbell of the 14th Iowa Volunteer Infantry recalled that the grenades were passed to the men in front with orders to throw them into the ditch, and that pandemonium instantly broke loose as men were blown above the parapet and fell back dead, clearing the ditches and striking terror into the enemy’s lines so that they fell back in disorder. Confederate officers blamed the failure of the assault on the depth of the moat and the steepness of the fort walls.

Pilot Knob, Missouri · United States