American Civil War Fortifications 2 ─ Land and Field Fortifications

The American Civil War saw a massive development in the use of field fortifications, the result of the practical application of antebellum West-Point teaching, and the deadly impact of rifled infantry weapons and artillery. Both the Federal and Confederate armies began to develop far more sophisticated systems of field fortification, and the larger field works and fortifications surrounding Washington, DC and Richmond, VA were redesigned and rebuilt several times. This volume explores the role of land and field fortifications in the eastern and overland campaigns of the Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Particular attention is devoted to the nine-month siege of Petersburg, where daily life within the redoubts, lunettes, redans, bomb-proofs, trenches and rifle pits is vividly described.

Ron Field was born in 1943. A history teacher for over 30 years, Ron is presently Head of History at the Cotswold School in Burton-on-the-Water, UK. He was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship in 1982 and taught at Piedmont High School in California from 1982–83. He has traveled extensively in the US conducting research at numerous libraries, archives and museums, and has written numerous books on 19th-century American history. This is his second book for Osprey’s Fortress series.