Although we associate trench warfare with World War I, trenches were characteristic also of the Civil War. A scaffold was built so that a rifleman— who fired a single-shot, muzzle-loading shoulder weapon—could step up and shoot over the top of the trench.
Although associated with WWI, trenches were also common in the Civil War. A rifleman could step up on a scaffold and fire a single-shot muzzle-loading weapon over the top of the trench.