Christ Church Parish Line

Christ Church Parish Line. . , Entrenchments , This boardwalk crosses a Civil War trench, the Christ Church Parish Line. The entrenchment was constructed from November 1861 to January 1862, a period that coincides with General Robert E. Lee's oversights of Confederate coastal defenses. As one of 72 field fortifications, the entrenchment was part of a grand-scale project begun in September 1860 to defend Charleston Harbor., Confederates constructed shore-side batteries and forts first. Then they added a series of entrenched lines to guard against overland advance on the city. Engineers from the South Carolina Regulars and Confederate Army supervised the construction, but enslaved people were forced to undertake most of the labor. Lieutenant Francis S. Blake, a South Carolina Regular engineer, is credited for directing the construction of this entrenchment., The effort by the undocumented enslaved people was significant. Workers hand-dug the three-mile trench, placing excavated fill on its south side to create a berm. When finished, the line ran east from Butler's Creek, across Georgetown Road (now Highway 17), then southeast to Copahee Sound., “The land defenses around the city...are in a good state of progress...The works have been mostly constructed by [enslaved] labor furnished by the planters.” - General Robert E. Lee, December 1861, The Art of Fortification , The American Civil War marked a transition from a militia to a professional army and with it an increased emphasis on military engineering. Dennis Hart Mahan was instrumental in this evolution of the “Engineers’ Art,” knowledge he acquired through his studies in Europe of advanced engineering and contemporary military theory. Mahan taught this knowledge to students at the United States Military Academy (West Point) from 1830 until 1871., Mahan Sketch of Trench Construction , Mahan noted that all entrenchments are composed of two primary elements. This included a berm to stop enemy missiles and inspire confidence in relatively untrained militia troops, and a ditch to provide material for the berm and to function as an obstacle to an advancing enemy., The Christ Church Parish Line and its anchor shore-side batteries were never threatened during the war and Charleston was successfully defended. However, the city and its harbor were ultimately abandoned to Union forces in February 1865.