Publisher's Synopsis
In May 1864, with Lee's army occupied in an attempt to delay Grant's advance toward the Confederate capital, the Army of the James commanded by Benjamin Butler disembarked 15,000 Union troops at Bermuda Hundred, five miles from Petersburg and several vital Confederate supply lines. Although the Union was slow to realize the value of the position the troops held, the Confederacy was not. General P.G.T. Beauregard rushed troops to the area to man the Dimmock Line, a series of earthwork defenses around the rail lines of Petersburg. Unable to penetrate the Line, Union commander General Ambrose Burnside advanced the unusual idea of allowing the 48th Pennsylvania - a regiment from the mining town of Pottsville - to excavate an existing mine, effectively tunneling under Confederate entrenchments. One of the most inventive and creative conflicts of the war, the Battle of the Crater ultimately became one of the most controversial, as an almost certain Union victory turned into an astonishing Confederate triumph. With special emphasis on the role of the 48th Pennsylvania, this history provides an in-depth examination of the Battle of the Crater, which took place during July 1864. Here, bickering between Federal commanders and a general breakdown of communications allowed shattered Confederate troops the opportunity to regroup after a particularly devastating blow to their defenses. The work examines the ways in which the personality conflict between generals George Meade and Ambrose Burnside ultimately cost the Union an opportunity to capture Petersburg and bring an early end to the war. On the other hand, it details the ways in which the cooperation of Confederate commanders helped to turn this certain defeat into an unexpected Southern achievement. Appendices include a list of forces that took part in the Battle of the Crater, a table of casualties from the battle and a list of soldiers decorated for gallantry during the conflict.
