Also Building Walls of Stone – Part II

Continued from the previous post regarding the meaning of Mormon’s statement that Moroni: “Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about[,] to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities[,] and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land;” (Alma 48:8, as it appeared in the First Edition of the Book of Mormon, which “as it came from the mouth of the prophet in its original, unchanged condition,” with two additional commas (set apart within [,] above), not shown in the current editions; Wilford C. Wood, Joseph Smith Begins His Work, Wilford C. Wood publisher, 1958,p358)
    The first part of this verse was covered in the previous post. Here we continue with the next sentence:

A defensive ditch with two embankments

2. Moroni: “throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies.”
Comment: “Banks of earth” are a temporary measure for protection to thwart a nearby enemy from gaining access within the perimeter of one’s army, military enclave, or secluded area of protection.  Such protection is meant to take away the advantage of shooting arrows or lobbing stones, sling-shot, and later canon-fire. It is not a wall of defense, which is either a semi-permanent wood stockade or a permanent stone wall.
    It should also be noted that when Mormon writes “throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies” (Alma 48:8), that this is not the same as building walls around a city, but of protecting an otherwise exposed military group. Thus, digging a ditch and throwing up earth is a process of creating a “place of resort” or protection for the men that keeps an enemy from direct fire from slings and arrows. As described in Littell’s Living Age: “placing open baskets on end in a row and filling with earth, builds a wall strong enough to resist impact and high enough to cover men in the trenches.

Ancient ditch with raised earth fortification on one side

This also provided an advantage of rendering the banks of earth firmer on the side next to the trench, and also steeper, so as to afford more effectual cover” (Eliakim Littell and Robert S. Littell, The Living Age, Vol.11, Littell & Son, University of Michigan, 1846, p411), which, by the way, was a tactic used by Little’s grandfather, a Captain in the Revolutionary War against Britain, in the defense of Springfield, New Jersey, which thwarted Baron von Knyphausen’s expedition to attack General George Washington’s army at Morristown, New Jersey.
    It should also be noted that in reading these steps that Moroni took, that one be careful not to link separate thoughts, set apart by commas, that are not connected. At the same time, we need to consider why Joseph Smith included commas in his dictation. Take, for example, “throwing up banks of earth round about, to enclose his armies,” which has two connected thoughts: i.e., 1) throwing up banks of earth, and 2)  to protect his armies. That is, the purpose of throwing up “banks of earth” was to “protect his armies.” This is followed by another thought regarding building walls, however, the explanation for the walls ties directly back into protecting his armies. Which leads us to the next statement.

Walls of stone to encircle them about

3. Moroni: “and also building walls of stone to encircle them about,”
Comment: This statement, following the others, tells us that in addition to digging ditches and throwing up earth to protect his armies, Moroni also had his men “building walls of stone to encircle them about.” The “men” in this statement references his armies, or stated differently, “he had his men building walls of stone to protect themselves.” This is not about building walls of stone to protect the cities, but in building walls of stone to protect his men and his armies.
    Now, “to encircle them about,” means “to enclose or surround with as circle or ring or with any thing in a circular form,” thus the stone walls were circular, both encircling his men and armies, and also the cities as is stated in the next part.
4. Moroni: “round about their cities,”
Comment: First of all, the phrase “round about’ means: “not following a short direct route; circuitous.” Thus, the walls of stone not only encircled his men and armies, but also encircled their cities.
5. Moroni: “and the borders of their lands;”
Comment: The word “border,” means “The outer edge of any thing; the extreme part or surrounding line; the confine or exterior limit of a country, or of any region or tract of land;” Thus, the stone walls were built around the men and armies, around the cities, and also around the land. That is, the stone walls also encircled their cities and the borders of their lands.”
6. Moroni: “yea, all round about the land;”
Comment: The word “yea” not only means “yes,” but it also “enforces the sense of something preceding; not only so, but more.” In addition, in scripture, “yea” is used to “denote certainty, consistency, harmony, and stability.” Thus, in this case “yea” reinforces the previous comment by adding particular emphasis to it. Yea (definitely) “all around the land.”
    Thus, facing walled cities, and stone walls all around, deep trenches and mounds of earth piled high to frustrate any attack, the Lamanites “retreated into the wilderness, and took their camp and marched towards the land of Noah, supposing that to be the next best place for them to come against the Nephites” (Alma 49:12).
    However, the Lamaniates were to be frustrated again, upon reaching Noah, “For they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security, for every city in all the land round about; therefore, they marched forward to the land of Noah with a firm determination; yea, their chief captains came forward and took an oath that they would destroy the people of that city” (Alma 49:13).
    Obviously, Capt. Moroni knew and understood the importance of building both permanent and temporary structures, for when he needed to protect his army for a brief time or a single battle, he cast up mounds of dirt around his men (Alma 48:8), but when he was fortifying the cities and the land, he built with stone for a more permanent defense.
    In a well-deserved tribute to Capt. Moroni, who “altered the management of affairs among the Nephites, insomuch that the Lamanites were disappointed in their places of retreat and they could not come upon them” (Alma 49:11). In fact, we might say that Moroni was a military genius, equipping his soldiers with armor padding to protect them from battle and strengthening the Nephite forts and cities throughout the land. In this effort, Moroni “built walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands…all round about the land” (Alma 48:8).
    In fact, that Moroni was such a great man, Mormon paid him the greatest tribute when he said: “If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men” (Alma 48:17). Mormon even named his own son after the military genius—a singular act of honor well practiced among the Nephites.

Top left: temporary defensive position; Top right: semi-permanent defensive position; Bottom; permanent defensive position

It is also important to keep in mind that when someone talks about building defensive walls out of wood, it needs to be understood what the purpose of the wall is for. As an example, as mentioned before, there are 1) temporary fortifications, meaning something that is not meant to provide much protection, but a stop-gap measure until more protection can be arranged; 2) semi-permanent fortifications, meaning an arrangement meant for a specific period to ward off small and infrequent attacks; and 3) permanent fortifications, meaning a fortification that is planned to last for some time and withstand severe enemy attacks with a high degree of success.
    Now, when it came to the Nephites defending themselves against ongoing Lamanite attacks, knowing their enemy’s desire was to eradicate them from the face of the earth, one can only wonder how these North American theorists can hold to simple wooden stockades that, at best, were not overly successful in the long-run in warding off Indian attacks over a short period of time. Think of the Lamanites, attacking year after year, coming down with so many men they were not counted, or were as many as “the sands of the sea.”
    When Moroni built stone walls around his men, around the cities, and around the land, one can understand why he used stone and not defeatable wooden walls.