Howlett Line Gun Position

From May 1864 until the fall of Petersburg in April 1865, this gun position was part of the Confederate defenses protecting the Howlett Line. Projecting from the trenches on either side, it allowed guns to sweep the left, right, and front with deadly fire. The Confederate picket line stood just 100 yards ahead, with the opposing Federal picket line only 600 yards away, and Federal cannons at Fort McConihe and Fort Carpenter 1,000 and 1,400 yards away respectively. Any Confederate attack from this area would have had to capture both outlying forts to reach the main Federal line about 1 mile away, while any Federal attack would have had to break through the Confederate picket line and then cut through three lines of obstructions under heavy fire from these guns and Confederate riflemen behind well-prepared earthworks. Photographs taken in Hanover County of a Confederate line overlooking the North Anna River after Federal occupation provide a visual representation of what life in the Howlett Line would have looked like for a typical Confederate soldier, including gun positions like this one and makeshift shelters in the trenches.

Virginia · United States