Howlett Line
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Howlett Line was a critical Confederate earthworks dug during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign of the United States Civil War in May 1864. Specifically, the line stretched across the Bermuda Hundred peninsula from the James River to the Appomattox River.
It was named for the Dr. Howlett's House that overlooked the James River at the north end of the line. The Howlett Line became famous as the "Cork in the Bottle" by keeping the 30,000-man strong General Butler's Army of the James at bay.
History
Following the Battle of Ware Bottom Church (May 20, 1864), the Confederates began digging a decisive set of defensive earthworks that became known as the Howlett Line. It continued for three miles from river to river and aimed to hold down the railroad and turnpike of crucial importance, which connected Richmond and Petersburg that were at the time slightly defended. Gen. Daniel H. Hill directed the construction of the Confederate fortifications.
In Personal Memoirs Gen.
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This entry incorporates text from “Howlett Line” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.