A National Battlefield

The Petersburg Military Park was designated a National Battlefield on August 24th 1962.

The Petersburg National Battlefield is central to Petersburg, Virginia, but also includes parts of Dinwiddie County, Hopewell and Prince George Counties.  Sites include the Crater, and the Battle of Five Forks which is sometimes called the “Waterloo of the Confederacy”.  The battlefield also takes care of the 9 acre Poplar Grove National Cemetery.

This is a site worth looking at for more about The Petersburg Battlefields

A Fighting Lawyer

Union General Robert Brown Potter died February 19th 1887.


Robert Brown Potter was born July 16th 1829 in Schenectady, New York, the son of Alonzo Potter. He was a lawyer in New York City.

Potter enlisted at the beginning of the Civil War as a private in the New York militia. He was quickly promoted to lieutenant and then commissioned on October 14th 1861 to Major. Potter was wounded March 14th 1862 at the Battle of New Bern. He was in command of the 51st New York Volunteers at the Battle of Second Bull Run. As a Colonel Potter led the 51st in the Battle of Antietam, where he was wounded again. March 13th 1863 saw Potter commanding the Second Division of the IX Corps during the Siege of Vicksburg, and a new rank of Brigadier General. He was leading the Division during the Overland Campaign, and the Siege of Petersburg were he was the only division commander at the Battle of the Crater. Potter was wounded again in the Battle of Fort Stedman April 2nd 1865, this wound keeping him out of the war until it ended.

With the war having ended and Potter recovered, he was given command of the Districts of Rhode Island and Connecticut which were parts of the Department of the East. Potter married September 20th 1865 to Abby Stevens. It was also on that day he received a promotion to Major General. He was mustered out of service on January 15th 1866. Potter spent the post war years as a receiver for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. He lived in England from 1869, before returning the to states and settling in Rhode Island in 1873. Potter died February 19th 1887 in Newport, Rhode Island. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

If you would like more information about this subject check out Alonzo Potter Family Website

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