Fort Architecture

Fort Architecture. Gateway to the Confederate Capital. For their permanent defensive positions, both the Union and Confederacy designed fortifications to include a wide variety of structures and obstacles. Once the ground was cleared of all natural and man-made obstructions, done by hand with shovels and other tools in front of more permanent field works, further obstacles could be employed to impede the advance of an attacking body of troops., The wide, flat inside floor of the fort's center is the parade ground. Use the diagram and information below to discern other features within the fort., (captions) , Bombproof. A protective enclosure constructed of wood and covered with earth serving as a refuge for artillery crews during the incoming shellfire of an enemy bombing. From Harper's Weekly, November 5, 1864, Embrasure. A break in a wall which allowed a weapon to fire while still serving as protection for the gun crew., Chevaux de frise. A medieval defensive anti-cavalry measure consisting of a portable frame covered with many projecting long iron or wooden spikes., Traverse. A mound of earth used to protect gun positions from explosion or to protect the inside of a fortification.