The Battle of the Crater: July 30, 1864

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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• February 25, 1882 National Tribune: Battle of the Crater: Petersburg, July 30, 1864
• Hdqrs. Army of the Potomac, July 28th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:1)
• In the Crater by Charles H. Houghton
• MHSM Papers: The Petersburg Mine by Brevet Brigadier-General Stephen M. Weld
• MHSM Papers: 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
• Number 4. Record of the Court of Inquiry on the Mine Explosion during The Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864
• Octave Bruso Diary: Week of July 24, 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
• September 10, 1881 National Tribune: Petersburg Revisited
• September 17, 1864 Binghamton Republican: Col. B.F. Tracy and Col. I.S. Catlin
• SHS Papers: Volume 28: Great Battle of the Crater by George S. Bernard
• 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
• The Battle of the Petersburg Crater by William H. Powell
• The Colored Troops At Petersburg by Henry Goddard Thomas
• The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater “the Horrid Pit” June 25-August 6, 1864 by Michael Arthur Cavanaugh
• Two New Maps on the Crater and Jerusalem Plank Road by Petersburg Campaign Author John E. Horn

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