Shaler Battery was a hilltop earthwork fortification built during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main countie ...

by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

to turn back invading Confederate troops. It was constructed to protect

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

and the Ohio River valley. The location of this battery's powder magazine is marked by a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

in Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Kentucky. Shaler Battery was one of the 28

artillery batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to faci ...

that were built on northern Kentucky hilltops from 1861 to 1863 for the Defense of Cincinnati. It was originally a small earthwork fortification on the point of a hill, ringed by rifle pit entrenchments. This smaller battery was removed following the construction of a larger earthwork approximately 50 feet behind (north). This portion of the earthwork remains, as well as part of the earthen ramp and small drainage ditches. The surrounding area is covered with graves and the rifle pits were filled in to form a road which is now paved. The battery was named for Dr. Nathaniel Burger Shaler, a prominent

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a major ...

physician, who offered his family's hilltop vineyard (which was adjacent to the cemetery and would eventually be purchased from the family estate as an addition to Evergreen) as a site for the battery.

References

Cincinnati, a Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors, American Guide Series, The Weisen-Hart Press, May 1943, page 539 Walden, Geoffrey R
"Panic on the Ohio!: Confederates March on Cincinnati, September 1862 - IV. The Defenses of Cincinnati"
Blue & Gray Magazine Vol. 3, No. 5 (April–May 1986), pp. 19–29. {{coord, 39, 03, 55.6, N, 84, 28, 22.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title Buildings and structures in Campbell County, Kentucky Kentucky in the American Civil War Artillery batteries