 Charleston was principally located on a peninsula , and so Lincoln aligned his Continental units in defensive works that barricaded the " neck " of the peninsula , using a line of redoubts , redans , and batteries . These defensive works were connected by a parapet , and commanded from a concrete hornwork jutting out from the defensive line . In front of the fortifications , the Patriot forces dug an 18 @-@ foot @-@ wide moat , and between the moat and parapet they constructed a line of abatis to stall any British assault . When the siege by the British Army began in earnest on April 1 , Hogun and his men were positioned on the right of the Continental Army 's lines , near the Cooper River . 
