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U. S. CIVIL WAR
PHOTOGRAPHS
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PETERSBURG
(PAGE 2 OF 5)
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Petersburg, July 30, 1864
Estimated Casualties : 5,300 total
After weeks of preparation, on July 30 the Federals exploded a mine in Burnside's IX Corps sector beneath
Pegram's Salient, blowing a gap in
the Confederate defenses of Petersburg.
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South Carolina Monument at the Crater - 2006.
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South Carolina Monument Plaque.
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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. The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several
counterattacks led by Maj. Gen.
William Mahone. The break was sealed off, and the Federals were repulsed with
severe casualties. Ferrarro's division of black soldiers
was badly mauled.
General Mahone's Monument (at the Crater) - 2006.
Plaque on General Mahone's Monument - 2006.
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. Maj. Gen. Ambrose E.
Burnside was relieved of command for his role in the debacle.
(Text Source: U.S. Gov't, National Park Service)
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Crater Tunnel, January, 1998.
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Crater Tunnel Entrance - 2002.
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Until December of 1997, the entrance to the tunnel, which the Union army dug
in order to blow up the Confederate line, was blocked by an iron gate.
Visitors could go down steps and peer into its darkness, noting that it
was low enough to be hidden from Confederate view.
One night vandals entered the tunnel and started a fire. Wooden supports burned
and the tunnel collapsed in several places. A reward has been offered in order
to catch the culprits.
In January 1998, access to the area around the tunnel was blocked by a temporary
fence. Plywood covered the tunnel entrance and the several places where the roof
collapsed. Now, the entrance has been restored and appears almost identical to
its previous condition.
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PAGE THREE
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Civil War Photos
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Petersburg
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Page 2
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3
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4
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5
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