The park, named for the line of Confederate earthworks that once stretched for more than three miles from the James River to the Appomattox River, still has one of the artillery positions placed along that line. These provided interlocking fields of fire that enabled the Confederates to cover the entire front with a minimum of infantry support. On June 2, 1864, Col. Olin M. Dantzler led an attack toward a nearby Federal position known as Fort Dutton. Dantzler moved his men to within 150 yards of the Union fort, pushing back part of the 7th Connecticut, before he and 16 of his men were killed.
