Name: Battle of the Crater
Other Names: The Mine
Location: Petersburg
Campaign: Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865)
Date: July 30, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: IX Corps [US]; elements of the Army of Northern Virginia [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 5,300 total
Description: After weeks of preparation, on July 30 the Federals exploded a mine in Burnside’s IX Corps sector beneath Pegram’s Salient, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg. From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion. The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Maj. Gen. William Mahone. The break was sealed off, and the Federals were repulsed with severe casualties. Ferrarro’s division of black soldiers was badly mauled. This may have been Grant’s best chance to end the Siege of Petersburg. Instead, the soldiers settled in for another eight months of trench warfare. Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside was relieved of command for his role in the debacle.
Result: Confederate victory1
Bibliography:
- Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
- Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder by Kevin M. Levin
- The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater “the Horrid Pit” June 25-August 6, 1864 by Michael Arthur Cavanaugh
First Person Accounts:
Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Battle:
- 864gag: Union Artillery Detonation of the Mine Siege of Petersburg 30 July 1864
- Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
- Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder by Kevin M. Levin
- The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater “the Horrid Pit” June 25-August 6, 1864 by Michael Arthur Cavanaugh
- Account of the Battle of the Mine Explosion… by Silas Stevenson, 100th Pennsylvania
- B&L: In the Crater by Charles H. Houghton
- B&L: The Battle of the Petersburg Crater by William H. Powell
- B&L: The Colored Troops At Petersburg by Henry Goddard Thomas
- Battle of the Crater John E. Horn Map, July 30, 1864: The Virginia Brigade Charges, 8:45 A.M.
- Battle of the Crater: Details of the Mine (Battles and Leaders)
- Battle of the Crater: Diagram of the Crater (Battles and Leaders)
- Battles of the Crater and of June 22nd
- BTC Notes: Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
- BTC Sources: Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder
- Charge! Issue 18, Page 22: Battle of the Crater by Michael Wedding
- Civil War Book Preview: Ed Bearss’ The Petersburg Campaign, Vol. 1: The Eastern Front Battles, June – August 1864
- CT AG 65-66: Report of Major Thomas Wright, 31st USCT, of operations June 4-November 6, 1864
- George S. Gove Letter: August 2, 1864
- Hdqrs. Army of the Potomac, July 28th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:1)
- Henry F. Charles Memoirs: Jerusalem Plank Road and the Crater
- MHSM Papers V5: The Petersburg Mine by Brevet Brigadier-General Stephen M. Weld
- MHSM Papers V5: The Petersburg Mine by Captain Charles H. Porter
- MOLLUS IL: The Petersburg Mine by Walter C. Newberry
- MOLLUS ME: The Battle of “The Crater” by Captain Horace H. Burbank
- MOLLUS ME: With the Seventh Maine Battery by Brevet Major William B. Lapham
- NP: Philadelphia Weekly Times: A Campaign With Sharpshooters by Captain John D. Young
- NP: August 16, 1864 New York Evening Post: The Colored Troops at Petersburg
- NP: August 16, 1864 Vicksburg Daily Herald: From Before Petersburg, Va (Battle of the Crater)
- NP: August 18, 1864 Pittsfield (MA) Sun: Extract of a letter from a member of Co. E, 27th Mass. Vols.
- NP: August 2, 1864 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin: Casualties 100th PA
- NP: August 20, 1864 Irish-American (NY): The Petersburg Failure
- NP: August 4, 1864 Brockport (NY) Republic: Col. Marshall Captured, 14th NYHA
- NP: August 5, 1864 Vermont Phoenix: Our Army Correspondence, 17th Vermont at the Crater
- NP: July 21, 1902 New Orleans Times-Picayune: Donaldsonville Cannoniers at the Siege of Petersburg, Part 6
- NP: October 1, 1864 Easton (MD) Gazette: Army Correspondence, Maryland Union Soldier
- NP: September 17, 1864 Binghamton Republican: Col. B.F. Tracy and Col. I.S. Catlin
- NP: September 2, 1864 Boston Recorder: The Repulse at Petersburg, July 30, 1864
- NT: February 25, 1882 National Tribune: Battle of the Crater: Petersburg, July 30, 1864
- NT: June 25, 1903 National Tribune: Battle of the Crater
- NT: October 17, 1907 National Tribune: The Massacre in the Crater
- NT: September 10, 1881 National Tribune: Petersburg Revisited
- Octave Bruso Diary: Week of July 24, 1864
- OR XL P1 #1: Report of Lieutenant General U. S. Grant June 13-July 30, 1864
- OR XL P1 #4: Record of the Court of Inquiry on the Mine Explosion during The Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864
- OR XL P1 #5: Reports of Major General George G. Meade June 14-July 30, 1864
- PBS series features Petersburg’s Battle of the Crater
- Petersburg Mine Explosion July 30, 1864 (OR Atlas 78:5)
- Plan Showing Part of the Line of the U.S. Forces on July 29th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:2)
- Review In Brief: Mother, May You Never See The Sights I Have Seen
- Review: Into the Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg
- SHS Papers: Volume 28: Great Battle of the Crater by George S. Bernard
- SHS Papers: Volume 5: Flanner’s North Carolina Battery at the Battle of the Crater
- Sketch Explanatory of the Positions and Operations of the Artillery Army of the Potomac, July 30th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:3)
- The Battle of the Crater CWPT Map
- The Battle of the Crater Elsewhere
- The Battle of the Crater Michael Wedding Charge! Map, July 30, 1864
- The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 1 PM
- The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 5 AM
- The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 8:30 AM
- The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: Aftermath
- The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: Prelude
- The Battle of the Crater Wikipedia Map: July 30, 1864
- The Battle of The Crater, July 30, 1864: Positions of the 22nd and 23rd South Carolina Regiments After the Mine Explosion: Official Records
- The Battle of the Crater: 147 Years Ago Today
- The Battle of the Crater: July 30, 1864
- Two New Maps on the Crater and Jerusalem Plank Road by Petersburg Campaign Author John E. Horn
Source:
***
Check out TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog for more great Civil War content!
What are your Top 10 Gettysburg Books? See what a panel of bloggers said recently.
Want to read some interesting Civil War content from amateurs and pros alike? Check out the Top 10 Civil War Blogs and Top 10 Civil War Blogs: 11-20.
{ 2 trackbacks }