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Butler's signal tower at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, circa 1865. Wet-plate glass negative, left half of stereograph. Photograph from the main Eastern theater of war, the Army of the James, June 1864-April 1865. View full size.
That's a serious piece of engineering...
More on the Army of the James. The tower, built by General Benjamin Butler on Cobb's Hill near the Appomattox River, was used to communicate across the James River valley and observe Confederate troop movements.
Would those log cabins with the substantial brick chimneys have been the equivalent of Bachelor Officers Quarters? The larger one behind the man in the white apron looks like it could have been the cookhouse/mess hall.
What a beautiful thing a signal tower is. Truly grateful to have seen one!
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