Approach Trench

Approach trenches, called saps, connected one parallel to the next and allowed troops to move toward the fort without taking direct fire from the enemy. As General Nathanael Green observed, "Not a man could shew his head but what he was immediately shot down." Sappers, or laborers who dug the tranches, broke through the hard red soil sometimes with only candlelight to guide them, and dangerous musket volleys often cost them their lives.

Ninety Six, South Carolina · United States