Shaler Battery was a hilltop earthwork fortification built during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 in Northern Kentucky

Northern Kentucky

Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...

 by the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 to turn back invading Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 troops. It was constructed to protect Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 and the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 valley. The location of this battery's powder magazine is marked by a bandstand

Bandstand

A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...

 in Evergreen Cemetery

Evergreen Cemetery (Southgate, Kentucky)

Evergreen Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Campbell County, Kentucky. It is still in operation and is located at 25 Alexandria Pike in Southgate, Kentucky. The Cemetery was begun in the 1840s, to replace the Newport, Cemetery...

 in Southgate, Kentucky

Southgate, Kentucky

Southgate is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, a part of metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio. The population was 3,472 at the 2000 census.-History:...

.

Shaler Battery was one of the 28 artillery batteries that were built on northern Kentucky hilltops from 1861 to 1863 for the Defense of Cincinnati

Defense of Cincinnati

The Defense of Cincinnati occurred during what is now referred to as the Confederate Heartland Offensive of American Civil War from September 1 through September 13, 1862, when Cincinnati, Ohio, was threatened by Confederate forces....

. 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, Kentucky

Newport is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is part of the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio Metro Area which...

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.