Building the Earthwork

Construction of the Boonesboro earthwork began in early 1863 and progressed slowly because of Confederate raids and bad weather, but it was complete by late spring or early summer. With no power tools available, the work was done entirely by hand and with manpower: picks broke up the earth, shovels moved it, and saws and axes cut the many trees that had to be cleared, including those blocking the view of the river on the slopes below the earthwork. Some felled trees were shaped with an axe or adz to build the blockhouse and stockade, while others were used for the abatis or for firewood. In a proposal to Gen. Gillmore, Capt. Brooks listed the manpower and tools needed to build the similar earthwork at Clay's Ferry, and that list likely applied here as well. Each part of the earthwork served a specific function: the abatis, an entanglement of large tree limbs facing the enemy, slowed an assault; the stockade, a high fence of vertical logs with loopholes, formed a second line of defense; the infantry trench, about 5 feet deep inside the stockade, gave soldiers cover as they fired; the blockhouse, a small thick-walled building at the center, served as a refuge during attack and in daily use stored supplies and housed officers' quarters; and the parapet, the main earthen wall, was formed from the soil removed to create the infantry trench.

Kentucky · United States