Digging In!
The Pioneer Brigade
| | Stones River National Battlefield | |
The din of battle faded on December 31 with the setting sun, replaced with the clatter of axes, picks, and shovels. Both armies spent the next two days piling up dirt, rocks, and trees for protection. The Union army's Pioneer Brigade used their skills and tools to build the berms and trenches you see in front of you. Their work has survived decades of weathering.
Hastily built lines of earthworks and trenches froze the bulk of both armies in position. On January 2 the focus of fighting shifted to the banks of Stones River. The fortifying of this battlefield marked a significant change in tactics. As the war ground on, generals and soldiers chose the spade over the rifle. Trench warfare dominated the war's later campaigns.
(caption):
Soldiers assigned to the Pioneer Brigade wore patches with crossed axes sewn on their left sleeves.
Erected by Stones River National Battlefield, National Park Service, US Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is January 2, 1863.
Location. 35° 52.851′ N, 86° 26.221′ W. Marker is in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in Rutherford County. It can be reached from Park Road west of Old Nashville Highway, on the right when
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee and in Greater Nashville. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in 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 Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Stand Fast! (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Why Fight Here? (about 700 feet away); Battle at Stones River (about 700 feet away); God has granted us a Happy New Year! (about 700 feet away); The Charge Kept Coming, Coming Like the Sea (about 700 feet away); Passing Through Murfreesboro (about 700 feet away); Their Longest, Coldest New Years Eve (about 700 feet away); This "Precious Dust" (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Murfreesboro.
Other markers no longer nearby. Pioneer Brigade Earthworks (was a few steps from this marker but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it); Chicago Board of Trade Battery (was about 500 feet away but has been confirmed missing).
Also see . . . Stones River National Battlefield. National Park Service (Submitted on March 15, 2021.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 449 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 13, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
