Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Civil War Resources
Civil War Source Book
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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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| Earthworks: | A generic term applied to fortifications that were built for temporary use, especially those constructed of earth. |
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| Embrasure: | An opening in a parapet wall through which an artillery piece or other weapon could be fired. |
| Embrasure Battery: | A battery that fired through embrasures in the parapet wall and provided more protection to the guns and crews than barbette style batteries. The drawback was a severely reduced field of fire for the guns. |
| En Barbette: | The arrangement of cannon to fire over the parapet wall and not through embrasures. This provided a wide field of fire but afforded little protection for the gun crew (see Barbette Battery). |
| Encampment: | A place where troops temporarily camped. Civil War troop movements resulted in numerous short-term encampments of over night or several days duration. Long-term encampments are considered to be camps with durations of weeks, months, or even years. |
| Enfilade Fire: | A sweeping rifle or artillery fire delivered along the length of the parapet from a direction that was parallel to the front of the target so that it crossed the target from one flank to the other. |
| Engineers: | In 1861 the engineers of the Union army were organized in two small but highly professional bodies – the Corps of Engineers and the Corps of Topographical Engineers. In 1863 these were merged and became known collectively as the Corps of Engineers. |
| Entanglement: | An obstruction, usually abatis. Occasionally telegraph wire "entanglements" were strung close to the ground to trip attackers. Wire entanglements were created by union troops to help deter Confederate attacks on Fort Sanders in Knoxville in 1863. |
| Entrenchment: | A temporary fortification or fieldwork composed of a ditch and parapet. |
| Epaulement: | An earthen wall constructed on the open ends or flanks of a battery fortification to protect the flanks from enemy fire. Some sources use the term to denote both the front and flanks of the parapet of a battery. |
| Exterior Ditch: | The ditch on the outer side of the parapet, between the parapet and the enemy. |
| Exterior Slope: | The outer side of the parapet that faced the enemy. The exterior slope extended from the superior slope to the berm. |