Near Spotsylvania Courthouse in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Confederate Line
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
| | Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park | |
Photographed by Craig Swain, July 6, 2008
1. The Confederate Line Marker
The landscape in front of you bears vivid testimony to the nature of fighting here in May 1864. At Spotsylvania, not only did soldiers build stout dirt and log works to protect them from fire in front, but they also built shorter trenches called traverses to protect them from enemy cross fire (a circumstance common on this part of the line). These traverses extend back from the main line like teeth on a comb. Soldiers came to call the three-sided enclosures "hog pens."
Remains of those hog pens survive beyond the main earthwork in front of you. After the fighting here on May 12, the Union army incorporated the Confederate-built works into their own line. Today the combined works make up an almost incomprehensible tangle - one that makes little sense to a military scientist, but one that made perfect sense to men struggling for life under fire.
"Keeping around the western end of [the woods], we came to a strange medley of intrenchments, which it would have required an engineer to unravel and understand. Here Grant's works had been pushed up against Lee's, swallowing them as one wave swallows another."
a battlefield visitor, 1866
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil
this page online
Location. 38° 13.361′ N, 77° 35.747′ W. Marker is near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. It can be reached from Gordon Drive, on the left when traveling north. Located on the East Face of the Salient trail at tour stop six (East Face) on the driving tour of Spotsylvania Battlefield unit of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spotsylvania VA 22553, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area, in Northern Virginia, and in the Piedmont. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Mass Capture (about 600 feet away); Dawn Assault (about 800 feet away); Fatal Mistake at the East Angle (about 800 feet away); Fighting for Time (approx. 0.2 miles away); "The Toughest Fight Yet" (approx. 0.2 miles away); Struggle for the Bloody Angle (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Confederate Earthworks (approx. 0.2 miles away); 15th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Other markers no longer nearby. Spotsylvania Campaign (was about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Spotsylvania Campaign (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed).
More about this marker. The background of the photograph is
Photographed by Craig Swain, July 6, 2008
2. East Face of Salient Trail
Photographed by Craig Swain, July 6, 2008
3. Traverses
Looking off the trail at the Confederate side of the earthworks. The traverses are difficult to pick out at some points. However trees have grown over some of the raised portions, as here. The main defense runs from left to right. Notice the "spacing" of the clumps of trees extending off the back of the main earthworks.
Photographed by Craig Swain, April 6, 2014
4. Traverses
The traverses appear much better on the north side of the line. They are also better viewed in the winter, early spring.
via National Park Service, unknown
5. East Face of Salient
NPS Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park website entry
Click for more information.
Click for more information.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,394 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 18, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 4. submitted on April 7, 2014, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 5. submitted on November 19, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.
