The Siege of Petersburg: The Battle of the Crater

Title:
The Siege of Petersburg: The Battle of the Crater

Description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater When the Civil War began, men fought like they had in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte; divisions of thousands of men, marching forward in formation, firing on the enemy in volleys, reloading and advancing and withdrawing under constant fire. Ulysses S. Grant can oft be credited for retiring this sort of warfare, and introducing that which bludgeoned the bodies and minds of millions---trench warfare. The Siege of Petersburg lasted from June 1864 to March 1865, with both sides digging in their trenches, boosting their fortifications, and waiting for the other to attack, or be starved out. On multiple instances, sallies were attempted. None were as devastating as the Battle of the Crater. The plan was for Union engineers to dig a tunnel directly under Confederate lines, load a pit with explosives, and blow a gaping hole into the Confederate lines. Black troops were specially trained under General Burnside to rush into the breach, fan out, and force the Confederate lines back for more Union troops to enter. The plan failed. General George Meade, commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, feared that the attack would fail, and he would suffer severe political repercussions north due to the use of black troops to breach the Confederate lines. To avoid accusations of racism and political fallout, Meade replaced the specially trained black troops at the last minute. Brigadier General James Ledlie's troops were selected to lead the charge into the breach, but reportedly he failed to tell his men or train them properly, and was drunk on the morning of the battle, away from the front lines, and not providing leadership for his troops. Instead, when Union troops rushed in, they failed to go around, and piled into the crater en masse, thinking it to be of better use as a rifle pit. They were stuck, with more and more troops piling into the pit, and the Confederates began to turn their guns and artillery onto the troops in the pit. By the end of the battle, over 5,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded, while the Confederates lost slightly over 1,000.

Author:
BloodyMargie

Tags:
Cold, Harbor, Virginia, Petersburg, Ulysses, Grant, Robert, Lee, Burnside, Civil, War, Gettysburg, Gods, Generals, South,