Digging In!

Digging In! The Pioneer Brigade

Exhibit Text: The din of battle faded on December 31 with the setting sun, replaced with the clatter of axes, picks, and shovels. Both armies spent the next two days piling up dirt, rocks, and trees for protection. The Union army’s Pioneer Brigade used their skills and tools to build the berms and trenches you see in front of you. Their work has survived decades of weathering. Hastily built lines of earthworks and trenches froze the bulk of both armies in position. On January 2 the focus of fighting shifted to the banks of Stones River. The fortifying of this battlefield marked a significant change in tactics. As the war ground on, generals and soldiers chose the spade over the rifle. Trench warfare dominated the war’s later campaigns.

Subtext: Soldiers assigned to the Pioneer Brigade wore patches with crossed axes sewn on their left sleeves.

 

Return to Stop 4: Holding Fast