Eastern Cemetery

Welcome to this hallowed ground. As a scholar of American military history, I invite you to step back with me into the sweltering, momentous days of July eighteen sixty three. …

Let us move to the northern edge of the hill, where the commanding views of the town and the distant plains first captivated General Howard. Close your eyes for a moment and picture the terrifying reality of July first, eighteen…

As we continue our progression along the upper crest of East Cemetery Hill, we arrive at the location where one of the most remarkable leadership displays of the American Civil War unfolded. Imagine the scene: it is the late…

Moving slightly to the east along the main ridge line, we encounter the physical remnants of the Union's most devastating defensive weapon: the artillery positions. As an academic studying military engineering, I find the…

Step away from the lunettes and move directly to the precipice of the eastern vantage point. What you are observing from this specific ledge is what military tacticians refer to as a clear field of fire. …

We now turn our attention to the base of the eastern slope, the stage for one of the most unusual and terrifying engagements of the entire war. In the mid nineteenth century, conventional military doctrine strongly dictated…

Ascend now to the highest point of the battery positions, the exact epicenter of the twilight crisis. By nightfall on July second, the Louisiana Tigers and the North Carolina Tar Heels had achieved the impossible: they had scaled…

Let us move to the eastern slope's lower tier, overlooking the dark fields where the North Carolina Tar Heels made their harrowing advance. It is here that we must examine the grim realities of Civil War ballistics and the…

As our exhaustive tour of East Cemetery Hill concludes, let us take one final, sweeping look out over the commanding views that defined the destiny of this terrain. From the meticulously preserved artillery lunettes to the steep,…