Colonel Ewell, an older brother of Confederate Major General Richard S. Ewell, was tasked with designing fortifications across the Virginia Peninsula east of Williamsburg which became known as the "Williamsburg Line". Under his guidance, 14 mostly earthen redoubts were planned and built, taking advantage of the terrain, and anchored by the earthen Fort Magruder at the junction of the roads to Williamsburg leading from Lee's Mill and Yorktown. Several of the redoubts to the southwest were located near (and west) of the Quarterpath Road and protected it.