Federal Artillery Battery

Under cover of night, Union artillerists left their horses at the foot of the hill and dragged six rifled cannon up the slope by hand. The guns were placed side by side inside a redoubt, with earthen mounds called traverses separating them for protection, while ammunition chests were carried behind the guns and set in trenches, and spare ammunition was wrapped in raincoats and kept near the guns. From this hill, Federal gunners had a commanding view of the fields stretching past the Garthright House to the Confederate lines 500 yards to the west. As part of the bombardment preceding the Union assault of June 3, this battery hurled shot and shell at Lee’s trenches, but most of Grant’s ordnance either fell short or passed harmlessly over the Confederate works.

Highland Springs, Virginia · United States