
Civil War Entrenchments -Loysburg, Pennsylvania
Posted by:
ted28285
N 40° 06.055 W 078° 23.381
17T E 722500 N 4442224
Remnants of defensive trenches made by the Pennsylvania Militia against threats of a Confederate assault aimed at the railroad shops of Altoona.
Waymark Code: WM15W5Z
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2022
Views: 3
The trenches were dug along the southern slopes of the ridges overlooking the Snake Spring Road, one of the few mountain gaps roads that could carry a sizable assault.
Nearby marker text: "Entrenchments still visible by the roadsides were prepared in June, 1863, by militia under Col. J.C. Higgins against threatened Confederate attack toward the railroad at Altoona. The march of troops toward Gettysburg on June 30 - July 1 ended the danger and the need for these defenses."
" The trenchline at Snake Spring Gap. It is remarkably well preserved and can be followed for several hundred yards. At the end, it curves down slope to engage an enemy attack from the flank and prevent an end run. The terr ain is very much like what it was in 1863. Steep, broken up and heavily wooded, it would have been almost impossible to mount an effective large-scale ground attack through it. The same thing can be found on the other side of the road, although it is much more overgrown and harder to follow." Source