An Engineer And Soldier

John Newton received his appointment to Union Major General March 30^th 1863.

John Newton was born August 25^th 1822 in Norfolk, Virginia the son of United States Congressman Thomas and Margaret (Jordan) Newton Jr.  He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating second in the class of 1842.  He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers and taught the subject from 1843 to 1846 at the Academy.  After which Newton served in engineering work along the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf Coast.

When the Civil War began, Newton stayed loyal to the Union.  He helped with the construction of the defenses of Washington, DC.  He was leading a brigade during the Peninsula and Maryland Campaigns, and fought at the Battle of Antietam.  Newton had become a division commander in the VI Corps by the Battle of Fredericksburg.  He was among the officers who traveled to Washington, DC to complained to United States President Abraham Lincoln of their lack of confidence in their commander; Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside.  On March 30^th 1863 Newton was appointed Major General.  He was wounded during the Chancellorsville Campaign at Salem Church.  During the Battle of Gettysburg Newton took command of the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac after the death of Union Major General John F Reynolds, and would continue in that position until the army was reorganized in 1864.  He was then placed in commanded of a division in the IV Corps during the Atlanta Campaign.  After this he was moved to command of the District of Key West, with his last campaign of the war a defeat at the Battle of Natural Bridge in Florida in March 1865.

After the war Newton returned to the Corps of Engineers.  He would oversee the improvements of the waters around New York City, and the Hudson River south of Albany, New York.  He was appointed Chief of Engineers in 1884.  On October 10^th 1885 Newton used 140 tons of dynamite and blew up New York’s Hell Gate Rock.  He retired from the Army in 1886, serving as a Commissioner of Public Works in New York City, and as President of the Panama Railroad Company.  Newton died May 1^st 1895 in New York City, New York, and is buried in the cemetery at West Point.

A Controversial Death

Union Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was killed during a raid on the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia on March 2^nd 1864.

Ulric Dahlgren was the son of Rear Admiral John A and Madeleine (Vinton) Dahlgren, and was born April 3^rd 1842 in Neshaminy, Buck County, Pennsylvania.  After graduating from school in 1858, he went to work as a civil engineer, surveying some lands in Mississippi.  In 1860 he began studying law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When the Civil War started, Dahlgren served on the military staffs of Franz Sigel, Ambrose E Burnside, Joseph Hooker and George G Meade.  He precipitated in reconnaissance during the Battle of Chancellorsville, and scouted Confederate lines throughout the Gettysburg Campaign.  On July 6^th 1863 while fighting as part of the cavalry in Union General H Judson Kilpatrick’s division Dahlgren was wounded and lost his foot.  He was back in the saddle with a promotion to Colonel by February 1864.  While on a cavalry raid near the King and Queen County Court House, Dahlgren was killed March 2^nd 1864, being shot in the side and back.  His body was hidden by Union sympathizers.  It was recovered by the family after the war and buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

There were papers found on Dahlgren’s body that contained signed orders written on Union stationery, of which read, "The men must keep together and well in hand, and once in the city it must be destroyed and Jeff. Davis and Cabinet killed."  These papers were reprinted in European and American newspapers, causing a great deal of controversy.

I Think He Is Harder On Me

United States President Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter on January 26^th 1863 to Union General Joseph Hooker upon his ascending to command of the Army of the Potomac.

Union General Joseph Hooker was the fourth in a line of commanding General of the Army of the Potomac, a part of President Abraham Lincoln’s search for a general who would give him a victory.  When Hooker was given command, Lincoln placed a letter in his hand stating Hooker’s good and bad qualities it commended his bravery, military skill, and confidence, as well as the fact that the President knew Hooker had undercut Union General Ambrose E Burnside.  Hooker told Noah Brooks; a reporter, that it was the kind of “letter as a father might write to his son. It is a beautiful letter, and, although I think he was harder on me than I deserved, I will say that I love the man who wrote it."

It was only five months later that Lincoln replace Hooker with Union General George G Meade right before the Battle of Gettysburg.

The letter written January 26, 1863 follows as:

Major General Hooker:

General.

I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons. And yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and a skilful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm. But I think that during Gen. Burnside's command of the Army, you have taken counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country, and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals, who gain successes, can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The government will support you to the utmost of its ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the Army, of criticizing their Commander, and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can, to put it down. Neither you, nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army, while such a spirit prevails in it.

And now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories.

Poor Planning

The Battle of Fort Sanders a part of the Knoxville Campaign was fought November 29^th 1863, hastening the end of the Siege of Knoxville.

When a Union force occupied Knoxville, Tennessee, engineer Captain Orlando M Poe built several earthwork fortifications around the city, including Fort Sanders to the west of Knoxville.  The Fort was 70 feet higher than the surrounding plateau, and included a ditch 12 feet wide and 4 to 10 feet deep.  The fort was held by 440 men of the 79^th New York Infantry with 12 cannon.

Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet was ordered to the area of Knoxville to prevent Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside from moving his troops to support Union troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Longstreet decided that Fort Sanders was the best place to attempt a break in the Union line.

On November 29^th 1863 the assault began, which quickly went wrong due to poor planning and unknown obstacles the Confederate soldier would run into.  In the very early morning hours Longstreet’s men moved to within 130 yards of the Fort, and then waited for dawn in a freezing rain.  The men first encountered telegraph wire which had been strung about knee high, then reaching the ditch they found the ground to steep, frozen and slippery to get up.  The Union soldiers defending the Fort shot into the massed Confederates below them with deadly fire.  As the Confederates attempt to reach the top, they climbed up each other.  For a short time the flags of the 13^th Mississippi, 16^th Georgia, and 17^th Mississippi Infantry were planted at the top of the ditch, but color bearers were quickly shot down.

Twenty minutes into the attack Longstreet had it called off.  Union soldiers captured over 200 Confederates, stuck in the ditch.  The casualties were quite lopsided, with the Confederates loosing 813 to the Union’s 13 looses.

More Officers Fell

Francis V Randall

The 17^th Vermont Infantry a part of the Union IX Corps mustered out of service July 14^th 1865.

The 17^th Vermont Infantry was recruited by order issued August 3^rd 1863 by Vermont Governor Frederick Holbrook.  It was thought that this regiment would be filled by men recently mustered out of the Nine Month regiments, this didn’t work out however.  The bounties offered to join the 17^th were gradually increased, but still the first company wasn’t filled until January 5^th 1864.  From then until September 1864 companies of the regiment were mustered into service for a three year term.

The Colonel of the 17^th was Francis V Randall who had served as a Captain in the Vermont 2^nd and then as a Colonel in the 13^th Vermont having led them at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The 17^th left Vermont April 18^th 1864 with only seven companies under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Cummings.  They arrived in Alexandria, Virginia four days later with very little drill or training, placed in Union General Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps just in time for the Battle of the Wilderness.  Here under fire for the first time, the 17^th went into battle with 313 and lost 80 men killed and wounded.  They continued in this command throughout the 1864 spring campaigns and the siege of Petersburg.  When the Union army exploded the mine in front of the Confederate line at Petersburg, the 17^th went into battle with 8 commissioned officers and 120 men, they out with only 1 officer and about 60 men left standing.  The 17^th was part of the final pursuit of Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, and was at Burkesville when the surrender came.

The men of the 17^th participated in the Grand Review May 23^rd 1865 in Washington, DC.  They were mustered out of service July 14^th 1865.  The 17^th had 14 officers killed or mortally wounded, more than any other Vermont regiment.  The regiment’s totals numbered 1,106, of which 226 men were killed, died of wounds or in Confederate prisons.  They also had 386 men wounded or captured.

Building Pontoons Under Fire

Union engineers began before dawn December 11^th 1862 building a pontoon bridge across the Rappahannock River, so troops could be moved into Fredericksburg.

Before dawn on the morning of December 11^th 1862 Union engineers began assembling five pontoon bridges in three areas along the Rappahannock River.  Those who were putting them together across from the city came under fire from Confederate Brigadier General William Barksdale’s Mississippians.  Union artillery fired on the Confederate sharpshooters, but Barksdale’s men were well protected in the cellars of the houses along the water front.  After it became obvious that artillery wasn't working, Union infantry was sent across the river in pontoon boats to roust out the sharpshooters.  Union Colonel Norman J Hall volunteered to lead his brigade, with the 7^th Michigan spearheading the landing for the job.

Commanding Union General Ambrose E Burnside was reluctant to send the men, saying to Hall that "the effort meant death to most of those who should undertake the voyage."  Burnside relented and at 3 pm with Union artillery softening the way, 135 men from the 7^th Michigan and 19^th Massachusetts headed across the river in the small boats.  Landing, the Union troops spread out into a skirmish line, fighting the Confederates street by street as the engineers went back to building the bridge.

Some of Burnside’s troops began crossing at 4:30 on the 11^th, but most didn't get across until the next day.

A Doctor, A Politican, A Soldier

Confederate Colonel and former United States Congressman Henry Marchmore Shaw was killed November 1^st 1864.

Henry Marchmore Shaw was born November 20^th 1819 in Newport, Rhode Island.  He graduated in 1838 from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with a medical degree and opened a practice in Indiantown, North Carolina.  As a politician he ran as a Democrat and was elected to the United States Congress, surviving from 1853 to 1859 with a gap during 55 -57.

When the Civil War started Shaw enlisted in the Confederate Army.  He was made a Colonel in the 8^th North Carolina, and commanded them at the Battle of Roanoke Island in September 1861.  When Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked the Island in February 1862, Shaw captured.  During a battle near New Bern, North Carolina he was killed on November 1^st 1864.  Shaw was buried in Shawboro Cemetery in Shawboro, North Carolina.

A Battle To Clear The Roads

The Battle of Blountsville was fought in the Sullivan County, Tennessee area on September 22^nd 1863.

Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside the commander of the Department of the Ohio led an expedition into Tennessee to secure the roads and gaps moving into Virginia, also the salt works located in Abingdon, Virginia.  Union Colonel John Watson Foster leading cavalry and artillery moved his troops toward Blountsville, Tennessee.   On September 22^nd 1863 at about noon they engaged troops there under the command of Confederate Colonel James E Carter.  The fight went on for four hours with the Union shelling the town. Foster made a flanking movement on the Confederates causing them to withdraw from Blountsville.

The casualties were light on both sides.  The Union had 27 losses, and Confederates saw 165.  The Sullivan County Courthouse located in Blountsville burnt in the shelling and wasn’t rebuilt until after the war.

To Improve Marksmanship

The National Rifle Association was started by former Civil War veterans and was granted a charter November 17^th 1871 by the state of New York.

The Union Infantry was equipped with rifles but more often than not fought using tactics formulated for smoothbore muskets.  Even when using these outmoded volley tactics the Union Army records show that for each Confederate soldier hit about 1,000 rounds were fired.

Led by “Army and Navy Journal” editor Union Colonel William Conant Church; Civil War veterans organized the National Rifle Association in New York November 17^th 1871.  Union General Ambrose E Burnside was the first President and General George Wood Wingate was the secretary.  Wingate studied marksmanship training programs of European armies while traveling, and he wrote a marksmanship manual.  The NRA got the New York state legislature to build a range on Long Island for long range shooting competitions.  The New York Herald wrote to support training in military marksmanship and promoted the NRA.

The manual written by Wingate went on become the United States Army’s marksmanship instruction manual.  Ulysses S Grant and General Philip H Sheridan were the eight and ninth presidents of the NRA.

A Race To The Cross Road

The Battle of Campbell’s Station was fought November 16^th 1863 in the Farragut, Knox, Tennessee area.

Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet took a detachment of two divisions and 5,000 cavalry from the Army of Tennessee, with orders to attack Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside who was traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee.  Both armies traveled similar routes trying to beat the other to Campbell’s Station.  Campbell’s Station was the point where the Kingston Road and Concord Road meet, and Burnside had to get there first if he was going to get to Knoxville.  If Longstreet could get to Campbell’s Station before the Union troops, they would be forced to fight outside of the works around Knoxville.

Burnside’s troops marched hard through the rain on November 16^th 1863, arriving at the intersection at Campbell’s Station just 15 minutes ahead of the Confederates.  Longstreet planed an attack against both flanks of Union force, with Confederate Major General Lafayette McLaws hitting the right flank and Brigadier General Micah Jenkins the left.  The Union right was hit hard and had to redeploy, but the Union left held its ground.  Burnside’s withdrew his men three quarters of mile in an orderly movement.  Longstreet halted his attack and Burnside was able to move his troops to Knoxville.

Union casualties in the battle were about 400.   The Confederate’s lost about 570 men.

They Lost 35% Of The Unit

The 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was organized in Worchester, Massachusetts and mustered into Union service August 23rd 1861.


The 21st Massachusetts Infantry was garrisoned at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland after being mustered into service on August 23rd 1861. The regiment was part of the Coastal Division under the command of Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside. They saw action in the Battle of Roanoke Island and the Battle of New Bern, before being attached to the Army of the Potomac in July 1862. The 21st took part in many of the big battles in the east including the Battle of Chantilly, where they lost at least 35% of the unit on September 1st 1862. They moved to the Department of the Ohio from March 1863 to January 1864. The 21st rejoined the Army of the Potomac in early May 1864, and took part in Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant’s Overland Campaign.

After three years of service the 21st had 152 men killed, 400 were discharged because of wounds, 69 were prisoner of war, and 300 had left because disease. Their numbers had been reduced from 1000 to about 100 men.

A recommended web site for further reading is Twenty-First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Three Years

A Man With No Country

Clement Laird Vallandigham an Ohio Copperhead Democrat was on May 5th 1863 arrested under General Order Number 38, and forced to leave the United States.

Clement Laird Vallandigham was born in New Lisbon, Ohio July 29th 1820, the son of Clement and Rebecca [Laird] Vallandigham. He graduated from Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Following graduation Vallandigham moved to Tibet, Ohio and opened a law practice in 1842. Vallandigham was a Democrat and was elected to the Ohio State legislature in 1845. He ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1856 and was narrowly defeated, but was elected in the next term and was serving when the Civil War began.

With the Civil War in force the population of Dayton, Ohio decided they didn’t want Vallandigham in 1862. This was primarily do to Vallandigham’s staunch support of Constitutional State’s Rights. He believed states had the right to secede, and that the Union government had no constitutional right to regulate the legal institution of slavery, nor use military force to subdue the Confederacy. Vallandigham was the leader to the Copperheads and created their slogan "To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was." Union General Ambrose E Burnside issued General Order Number 38, which stated that in Ohio any sympathy for the enemy would not be tolerated. Vallandigham gave a speech charging that the Civil War was being fought not to save the Union but to free slaves, he denounced the war and called for President Abraham Lincoln to be removed on May 1st 1863. On May 5th 1863 he was arrested. Vallandigham was tried in military court May 7th 1863 and sentenced to 2 years of prison. Instead of being sent to prison Lincoln ordered him sent to the Confederacy under military guard. After crossing over in Tennessee to the Confederacy, Vallandigham took a blockade runner to Bermuda, and then a ship to Canada. Once in Canada he declared his candidacy for Governor of the State of Ohio. Ohio Democrats nominated him by a vote of 411 to 11, and Vallandigham set up a campaign office in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His campaign platform was for freedom, and for the State of Ohio to secede from the Union. He lost the race in 1863, but in 1864 Vallandigham appeared at the 1864 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Vallandigham wrote the “peace plank” for the convention and was included on the ticket as the Secretary of War.

Following the war Vallandigham returned to Ohio where he pick back up his law practice. He ran unsuccessfully for United State Congress. Vallandigham accidentally shot himself while defending a man for a killing in a bar room fight. He died from this shot June 17th 1871 in Lebanon, Ohio and is buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

For more about this subject Ohio History - Clement Vallandigham

A Battle For The Coast

The Battle of Roanoke Island, an amphibious battle was fought February 7th and 8th 1862 in the North Carolina Sound.

The first opening of what would be called the Burnside Expedition took place on February 7th and 8th 1862. Known as the Battle of Roanoke Island, it was fought just south of Virginia in the North Carolina Sound. The Union attack was made up of gunboats taken from the North Atlantic Blocking Squadron under the command of Flag Officer Louis M Goldsborough and troops led by Brigadier General Ambrose E Burnside. These Union forces came up against Confederate gunboats known as the Mosquito Fleet under the command of Captain William F Lynch, with about 2,000 soldiers led at the time of the battle by Colonel Henry M Shaw. The Confederate defenses were also supported by four forts and two batteries.

The day of February 7th 1862 was spent in a gun duel between the Union gunboats and the forts along the shore. Several of the Union gunboats were hit, but damage was light. Around four that afternoon Burnside went ashore with his 10,000 men, and six howitzers. It was to late in the day to begin a ground fight, and so they went into camp for the night.

The second day of the Battle, the Union troops advanced under a heavy artillery fire. Although protected by swamps the Confederates were flanked on both sides and drew back into the forts. Burnsides took the Forts one at a time. Shaw ran out of places to escape to and surrendered his 2,500 men and 32 guns..

The Thanks Of A Nation

Union General George Gordon Meade and the Army of the Potomac received a “Thanks of Congress” January 28th 1864 for their part in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Originally a formal governmental thanks, the “Thanks of Congress” was a series of resolutions passed by the United States Congress for victories or impressive military actions. These “Thanks of Congress” began during the American Revolutionary War, and were often accompanied by a commemorative medal. “Thanks of Congress” during the Civil War were published in Statutes at Large. Fifteen Union Army officers and fifteen Union Navy officers were named in these act during the Civil War. The first “Thanks of Congress” to be awarded during the Civil War was for "the gallant and patriotic services of the late Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, and the officers and soldiers under his command at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on 10 Aug. 1861."

The United States Congress awarded five “Thanks of Congress” on January 28th 1864. They were given to Nathaniel P Bank, Ambrose E Burnside, Joseph Hooker, Oliver Otis Howard, and George G Meade.

A Lopsided Battle

Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside missed his chance to attack at Fredericksburg before the Confederates massed there, and so the battle wasn’t fought until December 13th 1862.

Hoping to side step the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Major General Ambrose Burnside made plans to move on Richmond, Virginia by crossing the Rappahannock River, and moving on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The Army of the Potomac reached Falmouth, Virginia across from Fredericksburg on November 17th 1862, getting ahead of the Confederates. But the pontoon bridges, to cross the river did not get there do to an administration mix up. Burnside wouldn't let any of his troops cross the river out of fear that rains would cause the river to rise and cut his forces off from each other. As the Union army sat on the Falmouth side of the river, Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s Corps arrived in Fredericksburg and began digging into the heights. The pontoons arrived on November 25th 1862, but Burnside still didn't move. By the end on November Confederate Lieutenant Thomas Stonewall Jackson’s Corps got into Fredericksburg and took up a position south of Longstreet. Union engineer final started the pontoon bridges on December 11th 1862, and Union troops began crossing the river under fire.

Finally at 8:30 on the morning of December 13th 1862 an assault led by Union Major General George Gorden Mead’s division with support of Brigadier Generals Abner Doubleday, and John Gibbon began. At first the Union was slowed by heavy fog, but around 10 am they exploited a gap in Jackson’s line, but were stopped by artillery fire, then about 1:30 a massive Confederate counterattack forced the three Union divisions to pull back. To the north Union Major General William H French began an assault on Marye’s Heights at 11 am. Having to cross an open plain and two small bridges to get to the Heights, and without artillery support because of the fog, French’s men were repulsed with a large number of casualties. Burnside tried to take the Height’s using Brigadier Generals Winfield Scott Hancock and Oliver Otis Howard’s troops, with the same results. Longstreet’s position was reinforced by Major General George Pickett’s division, and held against sixteen Union charges.

A terribly lopsided battle, the Battle of Fredericksburg saw huge Union losses of about 13,530 men killed, wounded or missing. The Confederates lost about 4,576 men, only about 200 of those suffered on Marye’s Heights. As the Battle came to an end, many of the Union soldiers spend a night on the field pinned down by Confederates in freezing weather. On December 14th 1862 Confederate General Robert E Lee granted a truce so the wounded could be removed from the field. Burnside took the Army of the Potomac back across the river on December 15th 1862, to Stafford Heights. Burnside would be replaced by Major General Joseph Hooker January 26th 1863.

Blue Spring And Bulls Gap

The Battle of Blue Springs was fought October 10th 1863 in Green County, Tennessee.


Heading a mission into East Tennessee, Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside and his Department of the Ohio, were to open roads and passes into Virginia and secure the salt works near Abingdon. At the same time Confederate Brigadier General John S Williams set out with his cavalry to take Bulls Gap on E Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and cut Union communications. On October 10th 1863 Union Brigadier General Samuel P Carter’s cavalry division advanced on Blue Spring; about nine miles from Bulls Gap in full force. At about ten in the morning the Union and Confederate cavalry engaged through until the afternoon. Union reconnaissance continued to look for a location to make an infantry attack, which Brigadier General Edward Ferrero with the First Division of the Union IX Corps did at about 5pm. Union troops braking through the Confederate line and advancing almost to the Confederate rear.

The Confederates withdrew after dark. In the morning the Union force persuaded. Williams pulled his men back into Virginia.

Cannons Blew The Tops Off Trees

On the morning of March 14th 1862 the Union took the city of New Berne North Carolina.


Union General Ambrose E Burnside left Roanoke North Carolina on March 11th 1862 with 12,000 soldiers. They were met at Hatteras by 13 Union gunboats under the command of Union Commodore Stephen C Rowan. On March 12th 1862 the boats were in the Neuse River, and on the morning of the 13th they opened fire on the shore of North Carolina. Three brigades of infantry under Generals John G Foster, John G Parke and Jesse L Reno went ashore and began a march towards New Berne.

In New Berne North Carolina were 4,500 Confederates under the command of General Lawrence O’Bryan Branch. These men had very little military experience, most still didn’t have uniforms. These Confederates were in line in the early morning hours of March 14th 1862, as the Union naval cannon blew the tops off tree over their heads. Union troops attacked along the railroad, hitting against the Confederate fortifications. The battle went on for close to 4 hours before the Confederates were forced to retreat. Future Governor Zebulon Vance with the 26th North Carolina Infantry, isolated from there line held off Union troops, delaying the taking of the city. The Union occupied and held New Berne for the rest of the war. Union losses were about 476 killed, wounded, or missing, and the Confederates saw 584 losses.

An interesting web site with more about this battle
Battle of New Berne

The Crater

The Battle of the Crater began on July 30th 1864 with a bang.

After weeks of hard work, shortly before dawn on July 30th 1864 Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside’s IX Corps blew up the tunnel that ran under the confederate’s line using four tons of black powder. Do to splicing of a low quality fuse the explosion didn’t go off when planned. Two men from the PA 48th Regiment, Lieutenant Jacob Douty and Sergeant Harry Reese, went into the tunnel and relit the fuse. The explosion created a crater and made a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg Virginia along Pegram’s Salient. It killed about 300 instantly Rebel soldiers. The Union troops charged into the crater unit after unit, where they milled around in confusion. The Confederates led by Major General William Mahone quickly launched an attack. The Federals were repulsed with heavy casualties. The black soldiers of Brigadier General Edward Ferrero’s division were dreadfully mauled.

Union casualties were about 3,798 in killed, wounded or missing. The Confederates lost about 1,500. Charges were brought against General Burnside, and he was never again assigned to duty.

Other information about this battle
The Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864

Battle of the Crater

The Horrid Pit: The Battle of the Crater, the Civil War's Cruelest Mission