Fort Brady, one of the best-preserved Civil War forts in the National Park Service, was built of earth rather than fragile bricks because dirt could better withstand the heavy artillery projectiles used by both sides. Union gunners occupied Fort Brady for six months between October 1864 and April 1865, where garrison life was anything but dull as Confederate gunners in batteries across the James River shelled the fort frequently, and one major attack in January 1865 resulted in many Union casualties.