Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War as Murder (New Directions in Southern History) [Hardcover]

Kevin M. Levin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 19, 2012 | Series: New Directions in Southern History

The battle of the Crater is known as one of the Civil War's bloodiest struggles -- a Union loss with combined casualties of 5,000, many of whom were members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) under Union Brigadier General Edward Ferrero. The battle was a violent clash of forces as Confederate soldiers fought for the first time against African American soldiers. After the Union lost the battle, these black soldiers were captured and subject both to extensive abuse and the threat of being returned to slavery in the South. Yet, despite their heroism and sacrifice, these men are often overlooked in public memory of the war.

In Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War is Murder, Kevin M. Levin addresses the shared recollection of a battle that epitomizes the way Americans have chosen to remember, or in many cases forget, the presence of the USCT. The volume analyzes how the racial component of the war's history was portrayed at various points during the 140 years following its conclusion, illuminating the social changes and challenges experienced by the nation as a whole. Remembering The Battle of the Crater gives the members of the USCT a newfound voice in history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Levin offers something new and valuable in this book. His approach of unpacking the complex telling and forgetting of the events surrounding one battle allows him a focus and specificity that even many very good treatments of historical memory often lack. Remembering the Battle of the Crater stands to make a real and lasting contribution to the field of Civil War memory studies."--Anne Marshall, author of Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State" --

""[Remembering The Battle of the Crater] centers on the well documented 'massacre' of the United States Colored Troops by Confederate soldiers during and after the battle, carrying the story on through the eras of the Lost Cause, Virginia's Reconstruction and Readjuster Movement. Levin's work offers a refreshing and inquisitive look at the battle and how the role of the USCT's is now coming into light in subsequent preservation and interpretation efforts."-- Chris Calkins, Former Chief of Interpretation/Historian (Ret.), Petersburg National Battlefield" --

""This is an important study of memory, race, and the Battle of the Crater. Levin traces the troubled story of how the Mine Attack at Petersburg was remembered by survivors and contemporary generations alike, and he makes clear and frank judgments about the tortured ways in which Americans have dealt with, or avoided, key racial aspects of the battle. Levin offers significant and convincing insights as he sheds light on our understanding of historical memory."--Earl J. Hess, author of Into the Crater -- The Mine Attack at Petersburg" --

""In this stunning and well-researched book, Kevin Levin catches the new waves of the study of memory, black soldiers, and the darker underside of the Civil War as well as anyone has. That horrible day at the Crater in Petersburg, its brutal racial facts and legacies, all tangled in the weeds of Confederate Lost Cause lore, have never been exposed like this. Levin is both superb scholar and public historian, showing us a piece of the real war that does now get into the books, as well as into site interpretation."--David W. Blight, author of American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era" --

About the Author

Kevin M. Levin's published writings have appeared in numerous publications, including The Atlantic, New York Times, The History Teacher, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Southern Historian, and Virginia at War, 1865. He is also the writer of a well-known blog, entitled Civil War Memory (cwmemory.com/). He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; First Edition edition (June 19, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813136105
• ISBN-13: 978-0813136103
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Levin is a historian and educator currently living in Boston. From 2000 to 2011 he taught American history at the St. Anne's - Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia. His published work in the area of Civil War history and historical memory can be found in popular magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals. He is currently researching the history of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Building history a memory at a time July 30, 2012

By James W. Durney TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Unlike Fort Pillow, what occurred at the Crater is not open to debate. Whites on both sides murdered members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
The battle is an example of what commanders should not do if they want to succeed.
The entire operation from start to finish lacked support from army HQ, plan changes for political considerations hurt the operation but everyone refused to abandon it.
The plan took on a life of its' own that no senior officer had the will or courage to end.
Soldiers at the front suffered. Command squandered a possibly good plan but fed men into a battle with little chance of success.
The Crater is the Army of Northern Virginia's first experience with the USCT and they reacted badly.
Worse, white men in the Army of Potomac murdered members of the USCT in hope of protecting themselves.

The Crater is a popular subject with the publication of several books and a novel in the last few months.
This unique book is not another battle history but tells the story of the Crater's history. This is a look at how and what we chose to remember of an incident.
Additionally, the book looks at the changes time causes in how and what we chose to remember.
This is not a history of the battle but a history of the history of the battle.

The book opens with a description of the battle that centering on the attack by Mahone's Brigade breaking the Union's resistance.
The author insures the reader knows the important parts of the battle, without bogging down in details.
With this as our point of departure, we follow two major story lines.

The first deals with the preservation or lack of preservation from the end of the war to our times. Petersburg wants normal....
The city wants to restore the landscape and blot out the scars of war. The owner of the Crater wants an attraction with the public buying tickets.
As veterans visit the battlefields, the city leaders realize some preservation of the siege lines is good business.
This leads to the establishment of the National Military Park and the current preservation efforts.
A major discussion is the changes in the park's presentation over the last 80 years.
We look at how the Civil War community, the public and minority groups accept or resist these changes.

The second story line follows the veterans, white Virginians and Petersburg's Black community from 1865 to the current day.
This is a detailed look at race relations during this time. We start with little official recognition that black men fought at the Crater.
Unofficially, the Confederate veterans were very willing to talk about this. They had no problem talking about the murder of wounded and prisoners during and after the battle.
While the teller of the story never seems to be the one killing prisoners, this is a common memory. Mahone's Brigade was comprised of regiments from the surrounding area.
These men were very active in framing the narration and excluding Blacks.
This starts to change in the 1950s as renewed interest in the USCT and the Civil Rights movement challenges the accepted narration.

This well-written book looks into a different area for Civil War History. It is more social political history than military history.
However, this is the story of how we understand and remember history. This book needs to be read and remembered. Read more ›

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book on the Civil War in Memory May 3, 2013

By Bill

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just loved this book. Couldn't put it down. Extremely well written, and persuasively argued. I have led groups of college students on tours of the Petersburg Battlefield six times over the last decade, but this book will make my next visit to the battlefield a few weeks from now so much richer. Anyone interested in the memory of the Civil War will find this an immensely rewarding read.

6 of 28 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars The Crater - a work of fiction May 7, 2013

By silver dollar

Format:Hardcover

About the author: "Kevin Levin is a historian and educator currently living in Boston. From 2000 to 2011 he taught American history at the St. Anne's - Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia. His published work in the area of Civil War history and historical memory can be found in popular magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals. He is currently researching the history of the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry."

This is a review of Kevin Levin's book, "The Crater," and Levin's blog that supports the book. This review is my opinion only. Feel free to check out Levin's blog, which gives an eye opening nuance into Levin's thinking and agenda. A window into the author's life and musings outside his book is helpful in understanding the author's intent and agenda in writing a book, and thus reflects directly upon the accuracy of the book. Thus this review includes a review of Levin's blog that supports his book. Levin's book should be considered a poorly written fictional account of the Battle of the Crater.

The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the Siege of Petersburg. It took place on July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George G. Meade (under the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant).

After weeks of preparation, on July 30 the Federals exploded a mine in Major Gen. Ambrose E. Burnsides' IX Corps sector, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia. 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.... Grant considered the assault "the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war."

The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The breach was sealed off, and the Federals were repulsed with severe casualties. Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero'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. Burnside was relieved of command for the last time for his role in the debacle, and he was never again returned to command.

I will be accused of not reading the book by Levin's supporters, but please read on. I don't trust Levin to know truth in any form. The author harbors extremely biased opinions against those he does not understand especially southern people. In one rant on his blog Levin refers to one southerner as "bat s*** crazy." Is this the kind of language that should come from an educator, scholar or author? I think not.

The historical facts in the book, backed up by Levin's assumptions, are nothing but opinions and assumptions and half truths. On occasion Levin spins the story to lull the reader into believing the research is impeccable, and that Levin understands and writes the only true account of history. Only fools, and the naive will be taken in by such garbage.

Like many authors whose sole purpose seems to be making money writing books, and profiting from spinning a Civil War story, Levin has a blog peddling his book. Check out his blog in support of the book for eye openers. Most posts that disagree with his opinion will not be allowed on his fully moderated blog. Levin carefully moderates each and every post, and his agenda shows through with the posts that he allows on the blog.

Occasionally Levin will allow a post that disagrees with his agenda. In response to such posts Levin will misuse words, take statements out of context, and slam the commentator in a way to make the commentator look ignorant and "dumber" than a fifth grader, and then close the comments to further commentary. I suggest Levin used his blog in this way to gather material for the book.

I don't understand how a well respected Civil War author such as David Blight was fooled by Levin. Posted on almost every page of Levin's blog is Blight's short comment about Levin's book. In part Blight states, ". . . showing us a piece of the real war that does now (sic) get into the books." The word "now" is probably misspelled and really means "does NOT get into the books." Friends there's a reason Levin's garbage does NOT get into the books. It's pure fiction. Read more ›