Breastwork

In its widest non-technical sense the term breastwork was commonly used to refer to any protective embankment arranged for a musket armament that provided cover to the level of the chest. This could include field works with ditch and parapet profiles, trench and embankment profiles, or simple epaulments temporarily used as cover for infantry. In a more technical sense a breastwork was any parapet that did not include a raised banquette tread or banquette slope in its profile.

Since the interior crests of breastworks' parapets were only 4 to 5 feet above the natural level of the ground they could be raised more rapidly than a full parapet, but when sited on level ground their low profiles did not adequately defilade the interior side of the fortification from enemy fire. Breastworks were particularly useful on wet ground with a high water table that disallowed the excavation of a deep ditch or trench; soil for the breastwork could be taken from shallow trenches both in front and to the rear of the parapet. This advantage also applied to ground where a thin layer of topsoil covered a solid rock bed. Breastworks were also useful when positioned along the crests of ridge lines where the attacking troops approaching the work or standing near the foot of the exterior slope could not see over the parapet.

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January, 2004

August, 2005