Fortress American Civil War Fortifications (2) - Land & Field Fortifications Osprey Books

The American Civil War saw a massive development in the use of field fortifications. Early in the war, during actions such as Big Bethel, First Manassas, and the Seven Days Battles, soldiers were required to dig simple defensive rifle trenches or pits in order to hold their ground. However, as a result of the practical application of lessons learned at West Point in the antebellum years, and the deadly impact of rifled infantry weapons and artillery, both Northern and Southern armies began to adopt and develop a far more sophisticated system of field fortifications. By 1864, the trend towards more elaborate fortifications could clearly be seen in the sophisticated fieldworks at Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. Similarly, the larger field works and fortifications surrounding Washington, DC and Richmond, VA were redesigned and rebuilt several times. By 1865 they approached a status little short of permanent. This volume explores the role of land and field fortifications in the eastern and overland campaigns of the Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Particular attention is devoted to the nine-month siege of Petersburg, which involved nearly 150,000 soldiers in both Union and Confederate armies, and saw some of the most extensive building of fortifications of the war. Daily life within the redoubts, lunettes, redans, bomb-proofs, covered ways, rifle trenches and rifle pits is vividly described in this volume using first-hand accounts.