Civil War Trenches

These earthworks are the remains of a trench dug by soldiers of the Union Army of the Potomac under General George McClellan. The trench extended from the mouth of Wormley Creek to the Yorktown battlefield and protected the movement of men and equipment during the siege of Yorktown in April 1862. It was constructed with numerous ninety degree turns to prevent Confederate field cannon and snipers from having a clear shot down the length of the trench line.

Virginia · United States