The Battle of the Crater at the Siege of Petersburg Online

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared earlier today at The Siege of Petersburg Online: Beyond the Crater.

By far the most famous and awe-inspiring battle of the Siege of Petersburg, the Battle of the Crater, occurred 147 years ago today.  The Battle of the Crater featured the longest tunnel dug in siege operations in the entire American Civil War, a massive explosion which caused even battle hardened veterans to mull about dumbstruck for several minutes after, the first large scale use of African-American soldiers in the Petersburg Campaign and Confederate response to this, and what historian Earl Hess, among many others, believes was a massacre based on available evidence.  The dreadful Union performance at the Battle of the Crater led directly to the courts-martial of both the luckless Ambrose Burnside and his cowardly division commander James Ledlie in the battle’s aftermath.

It’s no wonder the battle ignites the imagination of so many students of the Civil War.  I thought I’d take a moment today to direct TOCWOC’s readers to some of the resources available at The Siege of Petersburg Online: The Battle of the Crater.  First, check out the Battle of the Crater battle summary page and Battle of the Crater maps page.  For even more in depth information, see the following areas:

Battle of the Crater Bibliography & Books Reviewed:

• Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
• The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater “the Horrid Pit” June 25-August 6, 1864 by Michael Arthur Cavanaugh

• Review In Brief: Mother, May You Never See The Sights I Have Seen
• Review: Into the Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg

Battle of the Crater Posts at The Siege of Petersburg Online:

• 864gag: Union Artillery Detonation of the Mine Siege of Petersburg 30 July 1864
• Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
• Battle of the Crater John E. Horn Map, July 30, 1864: The Virginia Brigade Charges, 8:45 A.M.
• Battle of the Crater: Details of the Mine (Battles and Leaders)
• Battle of the Crater: Diagram of the Crater (Battles and Leaders)
• Battles of the Crater and of June 22nd
• BTC Notes: Into The Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess
• Charge! Issue 18, Page 22: Battle of the Crater by Michael Wedding
• Hdqrs. Army of the Potomac, July 28th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:1)
• In the Crater by Charles H. Houghton
• Number 4. Record of the Court of Inquiry on the Mine Explosion during The Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864
• Octave Bruso Diary: Week of July 24, 1864
• PBS series features Petersburg’s Battle of the Crater
• Petersburg Mine Explosion July 30, 1864 (OR Atlas 78:5)
• Plan Showing Part of the Line of the U.S. Forces on July 29th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:2)
• Review In Brief: Mother, May You Never See The Sights I Have Seen
• Review: Into the Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg
• September 17, 1864 Binghamton Republican: Col. B.F. Tracy and Col. I.S. Catlin
• Sketch Explanatory of the Positions and Operations of the Artillery Army of the Potomac, July 30th, 1864 (OR Atlas 64:3)
• The Battle of the Crater CWPT Map
• The Battle of the Crater Michael Wedding Charge! Map, July 30, 1864
• The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 1 PM
• The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 5 AM
• The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: 8:30 AM
• The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: Aftermath
• The Battle of the Crater NPS Map: Prelude
• The Battle of the Crater Wikipedia Map: July 30, 1864
• The Battle of The Crater, July 30, 1864: Positions of the 22nd and 23rd South Carolina Regiments After the Mine Explosion: Official Records
• The Battle of the Crater: 147 Years Ago Today
• The Battle of the Crater: July 30, 1864
• The Battle of the Petersburg Crater by William H. Powell
• The Battle of “The Crater” by Captain Horace H. Burbank
• The Colored Troops At Petersburg by Henry Goddard Thomas
• The Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of the Crater “the Horrid Pit” June 25-August 6, 1864 by Michael Arthur Cavanaugh
• The Petersburg Mine by Brevet Brigadier-General Stephen M. Weld
• The Petersburg Mine by Captain Charles H. Porter
• The Petersburg Mine by Walter C. Newberry
• Two New Maps on the Crater and Jerusalem Plank Road by Petersburg Campaign Author John E. Horn
• With the Seventh Maine Battery by Brevet Major William B. Lapham