The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History [Hardcover]

John F. Schmutz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786439823 | ISBN-13: 978-0786439829 | Publication Date: January 19, 2009

The Battle of the Crater is one of the lesser known yet most interesting battles of the Civil War. This book, detailing the onset of brutal trench warfare at Petersburg, Virginia, digs deeply into the military and political background of the battle. Beginning by tracing the rival armies through the bitter conflicts of the Overland Campaign and culminating with the siege of Petersburg and the battle intended to lift that siege, this book offers a candid look at the perception of the campaign by both sides.

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About the Author

Corporate attorney, Army veteran and longtime Civil War enthusiast John F. Schmutz resides in San Antonio, Texas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 428 pages
• Publisher: McFarland (January 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786439823
• ISBN-13: 978-0786439829
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,308,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars THE BATTLE OF THE CRATER: A COMPLETE HISTORY, March 30, 2011

By 

Robert A. Lynn "Militaryhistorywriter" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History (Hardcover)

THE BATTLE OF THE CRATER: A COMPLETE HISTORY
JOHN F. SCHMUTZ
MCFARLAND PUBLISHING, 2008
HARDCOVER, $75.00, 428 PAGES, PHOTOGRAPHS, ILLUSTRATIONS, APPENDICES, NOTES,
BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX


The Petersburg Mine Assault or as it is known in U.S. history-The Battle of the Crater, was the idea of Lt. Colonel Henry Pleasants, commanding officer of the 48th Pennsylvania Regiment. This regiment was composed largely of coal miners from the Schuylkill County and were assigned a section of the trenches opposite Confederate Brigadier General Stephen Elliott's South Carolina Brigade. This brigade was composed of the 17th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd, and 26th South Carolina Regiments.

Pleasants, a mining engineer before the war, acted on the remark of one of his men. He met with the Ninth Army Corps commander, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside and he was sold on this idea. He in turn passed it to the commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, who approved it. Work started on the tunnel on 25 June 1864 and was completed on 23 July 1864. The placing of the powder charge was finished on 27 July 1864. The main shaft ran 511 feet to a point 20 feet under Confederate Battery No. 5; two lateral galleries, with a total length of 75 feet, were run under the enemy trenches. The tunnel averaged five feet in height, was four and a half feet wide at the bottom and about two feet at the top. It was ventilated by an ingenious system whereby fire in a chimney near the entrance drew stale air out of the tunnel, while the resulting vacuum pulled fresh air through a wooden tube that ran along the floor of the tunnel from under an airtight door at the entrance to the end where the men were digging. The powder charge consisted of 320 kegs of black powder, totaling 8,000 pounds; a 38-foot section of the main tunnel was then filled with dirt to provide the necessary tamping effect and a fuse improvised. With little support from higher headquarters in getting the necessary surveying instruments, tools, demolition equipment, or manpower; Pleasants and his regiment successfully achieved the technical portion of the project.

Grant had never been enthusiastic about the operation because, although Pleasants had selected a good position for constructing such a mine, the location didn't favor tactical exploitation of the explosion. However, plans were made for Burnside's IX Corps to attack through the gap made by the mine. Burnside selected Brigadier General Edward Ferrero's Fourth Division (which consisted of nine U.S. Colored Troops regiments) for the initial attack because they were his largest and freshest division. Accordingly, on 18 July 1864, Ferrero's division was brought forward and its Negro soldiers given special training for the assault. The day before the battle, however, Meade informed Burnside that his contemplated use of Negro troops for such a hazardous operation was fraught with political repercussions and that one of the Caucasian divisions would have to be substituted. Grant concurred. Demoralized by this interference, Burnside had his other three division commanders draw straws to see which one would lead the assault. Brigadier General James H. Ledlie of the 1st Division drew the short straw. To further jeopardize the plan, Burnside failed to follow his instructions and prepare passages through his parapets and abatis to make it easier for his attacking elements to advance through.

The Confederates knew that the Union was constructing a mine but they were unsuccessful in their countermining operations. Lt. General Pierre G.T. Beauregard then ordered construction of entrenchments across the neck of the salient and also emplaced large mortars to cover the threatened point.

The explosion was set for 3:30 AM, 30 July 1864 but the fuse failed to go off. At 4:15 AM, Lt. Jacob Douty and Sgt. Harry Reese crawled into the tunnel and relit the fuse, which had burned out at the splice. At 4:45 AM, the mine exploded. Pleasants' part of the work was a complete success: the explosion created a crater 170 feet long, 60 to 80 feet wide, and 30 feet deep; at least 278 Confederates were killed or wounded; nine companies of the 19th and 22nd South Carolina Regiments were blown into the air. Many Union soldiers rushed into the crater rather than around it. The rear lip of the crater, backed by a Confederate earthwork, proved insurmountable. At a time when the Union troops needed leadership, Brigadier General Ledlie huddled with a jug of rum in a rear bombproof shelter.

The subsequent widespread confusion gave the Confederates time to recover from the assault and shore up the defenses. By 9:00 AM, when Brigadier General Ferrero's Fourth Division joined the battle, the Confederates were fending off attacks on both sides of the crater. Confederate Brigadier General William Mahone's Brigade began a counterattack about 1:00 PM and cleared the crater of Union troops. The assault had cost the Union 3,798 out of 20,708 engaged while the Confederacy suffered 1,611 out of 11,466 engaged. Later, a court of inquiry, headed by Major General Winfield Hancock, found the following officers responsible in varying degrees of failure: Burnside, Ledlie, Ferrero, Colonels Z.R. Bliss and Wilcox.

This book, THE BATTLE OF THE CRATER: A COMPLETE HISTORY details the onset of brutal trench warfare at Petersburg, Virginia by tracing the rival armies through the bitter conflicts of the Overland Campaign and culminating with the siege of Petersburg and the battle intended to lift the siege. This outstanding book covers a significant unexplored topic in gratifying depth.



Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida