"Typical gun emplacements and breastworks" Topic

Hi folks. I'm looking to try my hand at creating some breastworks/ earthworks and some prepared gun positions for a 6mm American Revolution campaign, and was wondering if some of you could direct me to images of what you think are good historical examples of these types of thing – maybe artists' renderings, or models, anything.

I have quick field fortifications in mind, not formal stone works. Would we just be talking about dirt mounds here? What do you think?

Thanks for your help

James

Earthworks were generally constructed, rather quickly in fact, from gabions (open-ended baskets made from sapling lengths woven with vines--grapevines being the strongest) and fascines/saucissons (bundles of long thin saplings < 1" in diameter). The gabions' ends were driven into the ground vertically in alternating rows as a matrix, then filled with soil. The fascines were used to reinforce the vertical walls of the embrasure.

link (ww1 but still using the basic elements in virtually the same manner)

link

Happy entrenching!

Was looking for pictures quickly but you can look for yourself at Yorktown and its a small one but near me at Valley Forge it is only a square dirt mound around a center with sharped logs jutting out. as a guess maybe 8 feet high, and 100 ' square

Field fortifications were often more complex than capncarp suggests. A more "engineered" approach was often used, and this seems to hold good from the 17th century right up until the last quarter of the 19th. Gabions were an important component, and used in many different ways, but mostly is was about construction of a thick earth parapets with a ditch in front.

There is a nice reconstruction at Pamplin Historical Park (www.pamplinpark.org/fortifications.html) of a US Civil War one.

This site (johnsmilitaryhistory.com/saratoga.html) has a nice series of pictures inculding some of a model of the British defences at Saratoga – part 1 and 4. And this (usmrr.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/saratoga-battlefield-visitor.html)shows another diorama of the same.

At Carlisle Army War College there is the "Army Historical Trail" which includes a recostruction of redout 10 at Yorktown. I'm sure there used to be a photo tour of this exhibit (and others) but I can't find it now. A goole images search on "yorktown redoubt" gives some nice pictures, including ariel views.

With all the about its work doing a google images search, or using google earth and looking at the photos tourits have posted.

Finally any contemporary military engineering book (often 19th century one are available online) will give lots of detail on contruction

Thanks very much for the tips guys, that gives me some interesting directions to go in.

You can't do better than look at any of the Yorktown websites – especially those with aerial views of the siege lines (the defensive works are a bit more nebulous as they were enlarged by the Confederates during the second siege).

You might find this useful:

YouTube link

I can't help but wonder what the works looked like that Maxwell fell back on during the Brandwyine battle?

The simplest form of field fortifications were 'fleches' (arrows), also called 'lunettes' (i.e. 'half moons') in the technical vocabulary of the day, which were shallow angles or arcs of earthwork (doubtless reinforced with gabions, etc.) thrown up as emplacements for guns covering roads, fords and other tactically important locations.

Peebles has