Howlett Line Gun Position

Howlett Line Gun Position (HM1EKR)

Location: Chester, VA 23836 Chesterfield County
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 20.677', W 77° 23.527'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 937 views
Inscription

The Bermuda Hundred Campaign

The ground you are standing on would have been a very dangerous place from May of 1864 until the fall of Petersburg in April of 1865. In front of you is one of the many gun positions that the Confederates used to protect the Howlett Line. This position juts out from the trenches on either side of it. This allowed the guns here to sweep the left, right and front with deadly fire.

Just 100 yards in front of this site was the Confederate picket line. A mere 600 yards away was the opposing Federal picket line. Beyond that the Federal cannons at Fort McConihe and Fort Carpenter were only 1,000 and 1,400 yards away respectively.

A Confederate attack launched from this area would have to capture both of those outlying forts in order to make it to the main Federal line approximately 1 mile from here. A Federal attack would have to push through the Confederate picket line and then chop their way through three lines of obstructions, all while under heavy fire from the guns here and Confederate riflemen behind well prepared earthworks.

The photos to the right were taken in Hanover County. They show the Confederate line overlooking the North Anna River after being occupied by Federal troops. While not taken here, they give a very good visual representation of what life in the Howlett Line would have looked like for the typical Confederate soldier.

(captions)
The gun position in front of you would have looked very similar to the one in this photo.
Makeshift shelters in the trenches.
This sign was sponsored by Jessica and Harry Thaete, Coronado, CA
Details
HM NumberHM1EKR
Year Placed2014
Placed ByChesterfield County and the Blue & Gray Education Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 13th, 2014 at 3:46am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 288106 N 4135787
Decimal Degrees37.34461667, -77.39211667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 20.677', W 77° 23.527'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 20' 40.62" N, 77° 23' 31.62" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 13130 Parkers Battery Rd, Chester VA 23836, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. This markers needs some tags to help categorize the marker
  3. What historical period does the marker represent?
  4. What historical place does the marker represent?
  5. What type of marker is it?
  6. What class is the marker?
  7. What style is the marker?
  8. Does the marker have a number?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?
© 2024  Historical Marker Project.  All Rights Reserved.
All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
HMP is owned and operated by 3RiverDev (Fort Wayne, Indiana).
Terms and Conditions   |   Privacy Policy   |   Disclaimers   |   About   |   Contact Us