Lynchburg Defenses
Historical highway marker R-4 · Amherst County
Confederate earthworks and artillery positions, likely built by enslaved African Americans, were established near here late in 1863 to defend Lynchburg against attack from the north. On 12 June 1864, Confederate Brig. Gen. Francis T. Nicholls, commander of the post of Lynchburg, ordered local militia and convalescent soldiers into these works to repel a possible advance by Federal cavalry under Brig. Gen. Alfred Duffié, but the Federals turned away before reaching this point. Soon after, Nicholls's men moved into defensive works in Lynchburg. Reinforced by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s corps, they helped repel Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter's assault from the southwest on 17-18 June.
Department of Historic Resources, 2018