Union Trench

During the June 14th assault, Union troops dug a trench connecting the ravine with Fort Desperate's exterior ditch, creating a protected approach from the ravine into the ditch. From there, Federal soldiers attempted to scale the fort's parapet, and according to Colonel Benjamin W. Johnson of the 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, many of those who entered the ditch were killed or wounded while trying to storm the works and then retreat.

Louisiana · United States