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Rocks and Rifles: The Influence of Geology On Combat and Tactics During The American Civil War Scott Hippensteel Sample

The document is a detailed overview of the book 'Rocks and Rifles' by Scott Hippensteel, which examines the influence of geology on combat and tactics during the American Civil War. It discusses how terrain and geological features affected military strategies and outcomes in various battles, organized by rock types. The book includes illustrations and analyses of specific battlefields, providing insights into the intersection of geology and military history.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
9 views101 pages

Rocks and Rifles: The Influence of Geology On Combat and Tactics During The American Civil War Scott Hippensteel Sample

The document is a detailed overview of the book 'Rocks and Rifles' by Scott Hippensteel, which examines the influence of geology on combat and tactics during the American Civil War. It discusses how terrain and geological features affected military strategies and outcomes in various battles, organized by rock types. The book includes illustrations and analyses of specific battlefields, providing insights into the intersection of geology and military history.

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Advances in Military Geosciences

Scott Hippensteel

Rocks and
Rifles
The Influence of Geology on Combat and
Tactics during the American Civil War
Advances in Military Geosciences

Series Editor
Peter Doyle
University College London, Essex, UK
Judy Ehlen
Haytor, Devon, UK
Francis Galgano
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA
Russell Harmon
ERDC International Res Office, Ruislip, UK
Edward P. F. Rose
University of London, Christchurch, Surrey, UK
Military activities are almost always strongly integrated within a wide spectrum of
geoscience. The decisive outcomes of land battles throughout history have been
dictated in large part by the terrain and environmental setting. Modern military
operations rely on a wide range of land-, air-, sea-, and space-borne intelligence and
knowledge of dynamic terrain processes and conditions. In addition, the study of
geo-based environmental science is critical to both the sustainable management of
military reservations and installations, as well as the evaluation of how terrain and
environmental conditions may impact military equipment and operations.
Advances in Military Geosciences contains single and multi-authored books as
well as edited volumes. Series Editors are currently accepting proposals, forms for
which can be obtained from the publisher, Ron Doering ([email protected]).

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15030


Scott Hippensteel

Rocks and Rifles


The Influence of Geology on Combat and
Tactics during the American Civil War
Scott Hippensteel
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of North Carolina
Charlotte, NC, USA

ISSN 2522-8315     ISSN 2522-8323 (electronic)


Advances in Military Geosciences
ISBN 978-3-030-00876-5    ISBN 978-3-030-00877-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00877-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956737

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims
in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface

I grew up on South Mountain, Pennsylvania, about 20 km from Gettysburg. Legend


had it that the members of my mother’s family hid in their attic and watched Lee’s
army march by their Cumberland Valley farmhouse during his famous invasion. As
a young man, I spent countless hours hiking and biking around the nearby battle-
field. My favorite place to visit was Little Round Top and Devil’s Den, at daybreak
in the spring and fall, when I could have the battlefield to myself.
As an undergraduate in college, I was torn between history and science. I knew I
wanted to be a college professor, but could not decide on a field of study. My father,
a mathematics professor, convinced me to pursue the natural sciences, largely out of
concern for my future job prospects. And so I became a geologist, pursuing my
Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the University of Delaware.
During much of my 22 years in graduate school,1 I commuted weekly between
Richmond, Virginia, and Newark, Delaware. This travel provided many opportuni-
ties for half-day visits to the numerous Civil War battle sites of Northern Virginia,
solidifying my fascination with my two favorite subjects of study: military history
and geology. I was especially interested in the intersection between the two—how
geology influenced the tactics and strategy of the American Civil War. Each of these
battlefields provided a different example, or many examples, of how the rocks influ-
enced the fighting. This book explores these examples at different scales.
I concede that I am a geologist first, writing from a natural sciences perspective
about history. I am not a military historian, although I have always chosen to read
books about military history over earth history. As a geologist, I choose to organize
this text around the three primary types of rocks, with individual chapters focusing
on battles in chronological order. I selected battles where the influence of geology
on the combat and tactics was straightforwardly demonstrated. Many important
battles, where the rocks played a lesser role, are mentioned only in passing (i.e.,
Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Shiloh).
Each battlefield chapter discusses the strategic situation prior to the campaign
and then explores the geology of the battleground, followed by the history of the

1
Duration of my time in graduate school provided by my wife

v
vi Preface

fighting. The final portion of each chapter is the most important—an analysis of
how the rocks influenced the strategy, tactics, and combat. As organized, the discus-
sion of geology and fighting shifts from larger-scale, strategic influences to smaller-­
scale, battlefield tactics. The final portion of each chapter discusses geology on the
smallest (individual) scale, ranging from rock-throwing to the influence of sand on
weapons and fortifications. Other than the Introduction and Conclusion chapters,
only one chapter of the book varies from this organizational scheme. I found the
research on geology and Civil War photography to be wholly fascinating and thus
choose to include it—despite the variance from the organizational tenets of the
book—as the second chapter on Gettysburg.
Perhaps the most important contributions of this book are the numerous illustra-
tions. The Library of Congress was a terrific resource for extremely high-resolution
images from 1861 to 1910, and I have enlarged, cropped, and sharpened the details
of many of these negatives to add to the narrative. The block diagrams included in
each battlefield chapter are a first of their kind. They are inserted to provide the
reader with a geologic framework for the battleground—a schematic understanding
of how the rock types influenced the landscape. Vertical exaggeration is great in
these three-dimensional drawings and varies between battlefield illustrations; nev-
ertheless, a comparison of these diagrams and the later included maps of troop posi-
tions and movements best illustrates the influence of the underlying geology on the
combat.
Finally, this book would not have been possible without the patience, support,
and encouragement from my wife Kyra. Over the years her critiques of my manu-
scripts (too many parentheses) have made me a better writer. Twenty-five years ago,
I took her on a hike through Devil’s Den and the Valley of Death at Gettysburg, for
our second date. I will always be indebted to her for her willingness to share so
much time with me on these battlefields and to tolerate so many dinnertime discus-
sions (lectures) on everything from artillery trajectories to differential weathering of
igneous rocks.

Charlotte, NC, USA Scott Hippensteel


August 2018
Contents

1 Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    1
1.1 Geology and the Combat Experience of Union Private
William Tritt��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    1
1.2 Rock Types and Resulting Terrain����������������������������������������������������    5
1.3 Geological Provinces of the Eastern United States��������������������������   10
1.3.1 Eastern Theater of War����������������������������������������������������������   10
1.3.2 Western Theater of War��������������������������������������������������������   14
1.4 A Brief Geological History of the Eastern United States ����������������   18
1.5 The Great Valley ������������������������������������������������������������������������������   22
1.6 Strategy, Tactics, Combat, and Scale������������������������������������������������   23
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   27
Further Reading ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   27

Part I Igneous Rocks


2 Second Manassas��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   31
2.1 Introduction and Background ����������������������������������������������������������   32
2.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Late Summer of 1862�������������������������������������������������   34
2.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Second Manassas Battlefield����������������   36
2.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Second Manassas�������������������������������������   39
2.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Second Manassas��������������������   45
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   48
Further Reading ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   49
3 Gettysburg������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   51
3.1 Introduction and Background ����������������������������������������������������������   52
3.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Early Summer of 1863������������������������������������������������   53
3.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Gettysburg Battlefield��������������������������   55
3.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Gettysburg������������������������������������������������   59

vii
viii Contents

3.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Gettysburg������������������������������   68


References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   76
Further Reading ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   77
4 Geomorphology and Civil War Combat Photography ������������������������   79
4.1 Introduction and Background ����������������������������������������������������������   80
4.2 The First Photographers on the Gettysburg Battlefield��������������������   81
4.3 Locating “A Harvest of Death”��������������������������������������������������������   83
4.3.1 Systematic Jointing and Spheriodal Weathering
of the Diabase at Gettysburg������������������������������������������������   85
4.4 Geology and the Moving Dead Sharpshooter ����������������������������������   88
4.5 Complications from Human Induced “Weathering”������������������������   92
4.6 The Durability of Diabase����������������������������������������������������������������   94
4.7 Final Analysis and Conclusion���������������������������������������������������������   99
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 102

Part II Metamorphic Rocks


5 South Mountain���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 105
5.1 Introduction�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 106
5.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Late Summer of 1862��������������������������������������������������� 106
5.2 The Rocks: Geology of the South Mountain Battlefield������������������ 107
5.3 The Rifles: The Battle of South Mountain���������������������������������������� 110
5.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of South Mountain���������������������� 113
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 115
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   116
6 Spotsylvania Court House���������������������������������������������������������������������� 117
6.1 Introduction�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 118
6.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Spring of 1864������������������������������������������������������������  119
6.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Spotsylvania Battlefield������������������������ 120
6.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Spotsylvania �������������������������������������������� 123
6.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Spotsylvania���������������������������� 128
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 131
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   132
7 Kennesaw Mountain�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 133
7.1 Introduction and Background ���������������������������������������������������������� 134
7.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Western Theater
in the Early Summer of 1864������������������������������������������������  135
7.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield ���������� 139
7.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain�������������������������������� 142
7.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain �������������� 149
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 153
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   153
Contents ix

Part III Sedimentary Rocks


8 Antietam���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 157
8.1 Introduction and Background ���������������������������������������������������������� 158
8.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater in the Late
Summer of 1862��������������������������������������������������������������������  160
8.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Antietam Battlefield������������������������������ 162
8.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Antietam �������������������������������������������������� 167
8.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Antietam �������������������������������� 180
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 189
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   190
9 Fredericksburg ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 191
9.1 Introduction and Background ���������������������������������������������������������� 192
9.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Early Winter of 1862��������������������������������������������������  192
9.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Fredericksburg Battlefield�������������������� 196
9.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Fredericksburg������������������������������������������ 201
9.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Fredericksburg������������������������ 207
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 212
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   212
10 Stones River���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 213
10.1 Introduction and Background �������������������������������������������������������� 214
10.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Western Theater
in the Early Winter of 1862����������������������������������������������  215
10.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Stones River Battlefield���������������������� 217
10.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Stones River ������������������������������������������ 220
10.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Stones River�������������������������� 226
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 233
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   233
11 Petersburg������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 235
11.1 Introduction and Background �������������������������������������������������������� 236
11.1.1 The Strategic Situation in the Eastern Theater
in the Early Summer of 1864��������������������������������������������  238
11.2 The Rocks: Geology of the Petersburg Battlefield�������������������������� 241
11.3 The Rifles: The Battle of Petersburg���������������������������������������������� 244
11.4 Geology and Tactics at the Battle of Petersburg ���������������������������� 251
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 263
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   264
12 Morris Island�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 265
12.1 Introduction and Background �������������������������������������������������������� 266
12.1.1 The Strategic Situation along the Southeastern
Atlantic Coast in the Spring of 1863��������������������������������  267
12.2 The Rocks: Geology of Morris Island�������������������������������������������� 273
x Contents

12.3 The Rifles: The Battle for Morris Island���������������������������������������� 278


12.4 Geology and Tactics during the Battle for Morris Island���������������� 286
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 296
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   296
13 Conclusion������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 297
13.1 The Military Career of Union Private William Tritt ���������������������� 298
13.2 Geology, Scale, and Strategy���������������������������������������������������������� 299
13.3 Geology, Tactics, and Combat�������������������������������������������������������� 300
13.4 Geology and the Battlefields Today������������������������������������������������ 306
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 312
Further Reading ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   313

Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 315
Chapter 1
Introduction

“The nature of the ground is the fundamental factor in aiding


the army to set up its victory.”
—Mei Yao-Ch’en, 1002–1060

Abstract The terrain in the Eastern and Western Theaters of the Civil War was cre-
ated by geological forces operating during the last billion years of Earth’s history.
The construction, and eventual disarticulation, of the supercontinents of Rodinia
and Pangea led to the creation of five physiographic—or geological—provinces in
eastern North America and each of these provinces provided vastly different land-
scape characteristics that could be exploited on multiple scales by the commanding
officers. This chapter explores how the different geology, and resulting terrain, of
each province influenced fighting at multiple scales: Strategic, tactical, and close-­
quarters combat.

Keywords Geology · Civil War · Terrain · Physiographic provinces · Geological


history · Great Valley · Strategy · Tactics · Combat · Scale

1.1  eology and the Combat Experience of Union Private


G
William Tritt

William Tritt was, in many respects, a typical American Civil War soldier, although the
influence of geology on his combat experiences may have been greater than that of the
majority of soldiers who served on either side during the war. William stood 1.7 m tall
(5-ft 7-in.) and weighed a little under 70 kg (150 lb). He was a carpenter and farmer
from south-central Pennsylvania who enlisted when he was 20 years old. Less than
2 months after joining the Union Army as part of Company D of the 130th Pennsylvania
Regiment, “Penn’s Volunteers”, he was in combat in Maryland. The 130th was attached
to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division of Brigadier General William French’s II Corps, which

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1


S. Hippensteel, Rocks and Rifles, Advances in Military Geosciences,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00877-2_1
2 1 Introduction

made the initial assault on the famous sunken road at the center of General Robert
E. Lee’s line at Antietam during the afternoon phase of the 1-day battle.
I had always had a particular interest in this famous assault, and especially the
experience of the 130th Pennsylvania, because William Tritt was a (distant) relative.
I never contemplated how geology affected his time in combat or his probability of
survival until I visited the Antietam battleground and retraced the path his regiment
had followed as it progressed across the rolling farm fields towards the Confederates
holding the sunken road.
Historical accounts of the battle describe the sunken road as a nearly ideal defen-
sive position—essentially a pre-dug trench with a crude small parapet constructed
from disassembled split-rail fencing. I had envisioned William and his comrades’
approach on this strong position having occurred under sustained Confederate artil-
lery and small-arms fire, with much of the rifle fire coming from the infantry con-
cealed in the road. In my mind the approach of the 130th would have been somewhat
similar to that of another division of the II Corp that had attacked, and been deci-
mated, only hours earlier and a kilometer away during Major General Sedgwick’s
morning attacks towards the Dunker Church. Instead, when I walked the route of the
130th Pennsylvania’s attack, I realized I could never actually see the sunken road.
The path of approach of the 130th was almost entirely concealed from the
Confederates by a long, winding ridge that made the assault markedly safer
(Fig. 1.1). The reason for this concealment and increased degree of safety could be
directly attributed to one factory: geology.

Fig. 1.1 The sunken lane at the center of the Confederate line at Antietam (left, shaded gray) and
the approach of French’s division (arrow). Note the linear dolostone ridge paralleling much of the
sunken lane
1.1 Geology and the Combat Experience of Union Private William Tritt 3

William’s commanding officers had effectively exploited the local geology,


always keeping harder rocks and higher ground between the Union infantry and the
Confederate line. This concealment continued until the 130th climbed the reverse
slope of the hard-rock ridge to find themselves less than 100 m from the sunken road
and in a perfect enfilade position above the lane (Fig. 1.2).
At Antietam, the II Corps suffered more than any other Corps to see combat. Of
the three division within the II Corps, casualty numbers were disparate: Sedgewick’s
2nd Division suffered more loss than the other two Corps combined. The reason for
this different magnitude of killed and wounded can also be directly related to geol-
ogy, and specifically the differential weathering of the rocks around Antietam.
Sedgwick’s unfortunate and ill-planned morning attack took place across the
Conococheague limestone, a formation of rock known for its consistent rate of
weathering and propensity to produce flat, gently-sloping terrain (Fig. 1.3). This
landscape is easier to defend, with longer sightlines for infantry and artillery and a
gentle incline encouraging ricocheting or grazing artillery solid-shot. The Union
assault was unsurprisingly especially costly.
In contrast, the rolling terrain over which William Tritt, the 130th, and the 3rd
Division marched was created by differential weathering between softer limestone,
producing swales, and harder dolostone, producing ridges. This later Union assault
took full advantage of the weathering characteristics of the rocks, tracking their
approach entirely in the softer limestone swales until approaching the harder dolos-

Fig. 1.2 View from the crest of the dolostone ridge towards the sunken road. Enfilade fire from
this position into the length of the lane removed much of the advantage the pre-existing “earth-
works” offered by the sunken road to the defending Confederates
4 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.3 Flat, only slightly undulating over which the Union assault during the morning phase of
the Battle of Antietam took place. Sedgewick’s men marched across this field towards the Dunker
Church and Stonewall Jackson’s men on the horizon

tone ridge for the final assault. The Confederate defenders of the lane couldn’t see
the approaching Union infantry until it was too late for long- and intermediate-range
fire (400–100 m), and soldiers can’t efficiently wound and kill an enemy they can’t
see.
The dolostone ridge proved highly advantageous to the 130th Pennsylvania, and
their adjacent regiments the 5th Maryland, 14th Indiana, and 8th Ohio, even during
the final combat phase of the engagement. The Union infantry fired from the top of
the ridge before retiring a few meters down the reverse slope of the hill to reload
under the cover of the hard(er)-rock ridge. The results of the firefight for the
Confederates was predictable in such a tactically disadvantageous position, and
there is a good reason their “nearly ideal defensive position” in the sunken road was
renamed “Bloody Lane” after the fighting ended (Fig. 1.4).
The probability of surviving combat is determined by a myriad of parameters,
and the 130th Pennsylvania did not leave Antietam unscathed. The regiment lost
178 men during the battle, with 32 killed on the field and 14 dying later. Nevertheless,
it is inarguable that William Tritt, and the regiment he joined, were fortunate to be
in a part of the afternoon assaults on the center of Lee’s line, when Union command-
ers exploited the geology, instead of during the morning phase of the battle, when
they ignored it. Unfortunately, within 3 months the men from Pennsylvania would
1.2 Rock Types and Resulting Terrain 5

Fig. 1.4 Confederate dead in the Bloody Lane. Edited and enhanced photo from the Library of
Congress Ref. LC-DIG-ds-05168; original photograph by Alexander Gardner

find themselves marching towards Marye’s Heights, a terribly disadvantageous


position with respect to geology, as part of General Burnsides’ calamitous massed
assaults at Fredericksburg.

1.2 Rock Types and Resulting Terrain

Effective use of terrain was a critical aspect of command that determined the suc-
cess or failure of an army on the battlefield during any war. No single factor contrib-
uted more to the nature of the terrain—slope, roughness, outcrops, sinkholes—and
the potential for successful defensive and offensive tactics than geology. Geology
also determines the ease of digging entrenchments and the source materials avail-
able for construction of breastworks, parapets, or larger fortifications.
Geology, geomorphology,1 and rock-weathering and their influence on combat
and tactics is a topic largely neglected by historians. Consider, for example, the
debate about why the massive First World War network of trenches didn’t appear, at
least on a large scale, on Civil War battlefields until the war was almost half over.
Traditional historical thinking attributed this lack of entrenchment to the command-
ing officer’s reluctance to allow citizen-soldiers to have something to shelter behind

1
The study of landforms.
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