Layout, trenches typical of Civil War

03/23/02 By Dawn Treglown, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

The design of Fort Attaway in Rome conformed to typical Civil War fort construction. A Georgia Department of Transportation environmental study conducted by archaeologist Erica Jeters documents the earthworks and references several historical documents. Most Civil War hilltop fortifications were placed just forward of the crest to prevent troops and weapons from being silhouetted against the sky. Fort Attaway is built in this fashion, located on the upper north slope rather than the top of Desoto Hill. The fort’s features include two rifle trenches. One is just north of a small knoll on the northwest portion of the site, and the other is on the eastern side of the site. Rifle trenches, or breastworks, are elongated linear rifle pits used to provide cover for infantry. The orientation of the pit near the small knoll suggests that the trench may have been used as a gun placement. The study notes that both rifle trenches are about 20 inches deep and “appear to be in an excellent state of preservation.” Four clustered, circular pits are located directly east of the northwestern rifle trench. Those may be the remains of military pits that had sharpened sticks placed in the bottom pointing upward. Attacking troops could not navigate the pits easily and could not use them for shelter. Fort Attaway’s pits are each between 6 feet and 13 feet in diameter. The southwestern portion of the site contains an earthen berm, or ledge, about 20 feet long that is broken into five segments. The area to the south of the berm is relative flat and is backed by an extremely steep slope to the hilltop. The study suggests that the area may have been “excavated to provide material for the construction of Fort Attaway.” The bank would have been “an effective shield for riflemen with muskets and possibly for artillery guarding the ridge and western slope of Desoto Hill.” The gaps in the berm would have provided a placement for guns. A Y-shaped depression cut into the hill’s bedrock suggests that it was possibly a semi-subterranean bunker that had been covered with a roof.