The Confederate Earthworks

At the Muleshoe Salient, modest mounds mark the remains of once-formidable Confederate earthworks begun on the night of May 8. The works were four feet high, with a two-foot-deep trench, and dirt from the trench was thrown against the outer face of the logs to create a bulletproof barrier. For added safety, the defenders left a small gap beneath the top log through which they could fire without exposing their heads. Because of the Salient’s curved shape, Confederates there were exposed not only to bullets from the front but also from the sides, so they built shorter barriers called traverses at right angles to the main line to protect against enemy crossfire. Although the traverses have largely disappeared, evidence of them remains in the rumpled contour of the ground. Lieutenant Harvey S. Wells of the 84th Pennsylvania Volunteers said the felled timber and earthworks were built somewhat after the style of a log house with earth well thrown up in front, and that the fortifications were divided like stalls in a stable, the compartments formed by timbers and earth that gave splendid protection to the men behind them.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States