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| A 7 inch rifled Brooke gun, at Battery Dantzler
overlooking Trent's Reach. As much as it galls me to see a
Union soldier standing inside the Battery instead of the men who
served there, I know of no pictures of Battery Dantzler before it
fell into Union hands. If anybody knows of some, please let
me know! |
| History
of Battery
Dantzler - Click Here |
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Battery
Dantzler, named for Col. Olin Miller Dantzler, 22d South Carolina Infantry (killed in action nearby on 2 June 1864)
was built in May 1864 to prevent the Federal army from using the
James river to approach Richmond. Battery Dantzler was abandoned 2
April 1865 and it's naval garrison marched west with Lee towards
Appomattox.
Battery Dantzler held 6 guns; two seven inch
Brooke rifles, two ten-inch Columbiads, and two siege
mortars. I have been unable to find a plan or blueprint of
Battery Dantzler, but I have visited the site and mapped out what
is visible among the earthworks that remain.
This is a seven inch rifled Brooke gun. The
gun is located at a sharp turn in the meandering river overlooking
Trent's Reach, and can
fire to the right, down the river, and can swing to the left, to
fire up the river. In the distance, you can see the white
line of the river turning back to the right again just above the
hurdle revetment and going to the far right of the picture, where
it turns left again and goes off out of view toward the left side
of the picture, upstream towards Richmond. The part of the
river you see on the right in the near distance today is no longer
open water - click here
The Dutch Gap (a narrow neck of land) is in the
distance on the right, just out of the picture, a point where the
river loops almost touch each other, and where General Butler
attempted to dig a canal across so that Federal gunboats could
bypass these batteries, but the canal was not completed until
after the war had ended.
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This is it for the signage off Hwy 10 headed east
that lets you know where Battery Dantzler is. I never
thought I'd be a militant when it comes to preserving
battlefields, but I'm evolving into one, largely because of
Battery Dantzler, and then I guess because of what I've seen in
terms of neglect at Fort Gregg, the Petersburg lines, and
Chancellorsville. If you've only been to Gettysburg, you probably
think all the battlefields receive similar treatment, but they
don't. Not even close.
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This is the entrance to Battery Dantzler, from
the gravel parking lot. It's a little ominous; this is a
sign that hasn't had a lot of love.
New - I just became aware
of this - A local scout group and the Sons of Confederate
Veterans, Chester have been working to preserve and improve Battery
Dantzler. Battery
Dantzler Work Day - click here
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This is the new sign, you can see it looks a lot nicer, and the
split rail fence also adds a nice touch to the entrance.
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Plus, the Sons of Confederate Veterans have done
some hurricane
damage clean up there as well. This is excellent local
support. They have some winter pictures of the site, and I'm
thrilled to see that the river is visible - in the summer the
overgrowth completely blocks the view of the river, and in my
opinion needs to be cut back regularly.
I don't know what happened to the wooden
structures shown in their pictures, but they seem to have been all
cleared away when I went there. They have some great pictures
that show the locations without as much overgrowth - I'll have to go
back and shoot more pics in the winter!
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And this is how you get to Battery
Dantzler. You walk down this path, such as it is, and head
into the dark woods. Of course, when Battery Dantzler was
firing shots in anger, the area didn't have the thick foliage you
are seeing here.
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Saw this guy while I was headed down the way to
Battery Dantzler. Snakes. At Battery Dantzler, you
definitely want to keep and eye out for snakes, ticks and
spiders. I wore shorts when I went there, but that was my
first visit, and not what I would recommend you wear.
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