Civil War Earthworks

Civil War Earthworks. Preservation Message. , The gentle mounds that meander through Spotsylvania Court House battlefield once looked like the reconstructed earthwork in front of you. The armies built more than 12 miles of trenches here, using whatever tools they could find. Lee's last line, extending off to your right and left, was completed May 12, while fighting ranged at the Bloody Angle, a mile ahead of you. You can see original works on either side of the reconstruction. , Spotsylvania's earthworks illustrate the changing nature of the Civil War. By 1864 the tactics of maneuver and open-field fighting had given way to trench warfare. Whenever soldiers took position, they started digging. Shielded by earthworks, battle lines moved closer together; soldiers toiled under fire for days on end; attacks became more costly. The war became a daunting struggle to survive not just bullets but stress and exhaustion too., Do not walk on the earthworks! , This reconstruction replaces original works obliterated by a road in the 1930s. The earthworks on either side are original and fragile.