The Patriots Lay Siege to the Star Fort

On May 23, 1781, General Nathanael Greene, who believed success was very doubtful, entrusted Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko with creating siegeworks, a system of trenches that would allow his men to approach and capture the Star Fort. A 35 year-old native of Poland who had received his military education in Warsaw and Paris, Kosciuszko used traditional eighteenth-century siege methods, digging a series of parallels, or earthen trenches, to provide cover for troops and allow artillery to move close to the target, with angled approach trenches connecting the parallels in a Z pattern leading up to the fort. The Star Fort presented a formidable challenge because its eight-pointed design let the soldiers inside watch and fire in many directions over a wide area. In 1781, the fort was encircled by a wide ditch, with dirt walls perhaps 10 to 15 feet thick and rising 14 feet from the bottom of the ditch, while rings of abatis, sharpened tree branches, were intended to hinder an enemy's approach.

Ninety Six, South Carolina · United States