The Plan
On June 25, Grant and Meade received a proposition from General Ambrose Burnside, a controversial figure and commander of the Union IX Corps, for an attack on Confederate defenses in his sector. The plan was to have the 48th Pennsylvania, a regiment composed mostly of miners, dig a shaft underneath a bulge in the Dimmock line known as Elliot’s Salient. The mine would then be packed with explosives, sealed and detonated to coincide with a Union attack that would exploit the breach the mine created. The regiments on the attacking force’s left and right wings would then break off and push down the Confederate earthworks,
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blocking reinforcements and widening the breach, while the rest of the Union force would push forward towards the high ground of Jerusalem Plank Road.[1] Union troops would have to quickly pass through the crater and on to their next objectives as fast as possible to prevent the Confederates from organizing a counterattack. While mining had been used by Union forces before, the length and size of the proposed Petersburg mine (a 100-yard shaft packed with 8000 pounds of black powder) was unprecedented. Burnside’s plan was approved, and the attack was scheduled for July 30.[2]
Elliot's Salient
Although generally supportive, Grant expressed some doubts about the plan’s feasibility. In his memoirs, Grant noted that “the enemy’s line at that point was re-entering, so that its front was commanded by their own lines both to the right and left.”[3] An examination of a map of Confederate defenses in the sector clearly illustrates Grant’s point, as the line was shaped in such a way that Union forces attacking Elliot’s Salient would be subjected to enfilading fire from Wright's and Otey's batteries and surrounding infantry, as well as the defenders to their front, and the artillery and
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mortar positions on the high ground of Jerusalem Plank Road.[4] Essentially, the position’s depth and interlocking fields of fire turned it into a fatal funnel for Union forces with Elliott’s Salient as the bait.
Confederate Earthworks
After years of fighting, especially during the Overland Campaign, Lee’s men had learned to create defenses with a deadly efficiency. The long period of stalemate that began after June 18 left the men of both sides with little more to do than dig, and soon vast networks of trenches crisscrossed the Petersburg's countryside. While lacking some key technological developments that would arise later in the 20th century, Confederate defenses contained the core elements of modern entrenchments. First, a trench was dug and reinforced with planks and logs. Most of the earth would be used to create a parapet, or elevated embankment on the front side of the trench with a fire step that allowed
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troops to look over and engage the enemy. A type of obstacle known as an abatis was placed in front of the trench to hinder the enemy’s movement. An abatis could take the form of either a line of wooden spikes, or tree limbs with their branches sharpened and foliage facing towards the enemy. Functioning as an early form of barbed wire, an attacker would be forced to attempt to negotiate these obstacles while being fired upon by the entrenched defenders at close range.[5] Cannon were also be incorporated into these works, allowing the defenders to fire canister (artillery shells consisting of a large number of lead balls, effectively turning the cannon into a giant shotgun) into the advancing enemy. While the mine would certainly eliminate a chunk of these fortifications, Union forces would still have to contend with those behind and on the flanks of the crater, meaning that a well-rehearsed, swiftly executed attack would be necessary to achieve success.
Citations
Cover Image: Entrance to Petersburg Mine (Courtesy of Atlas Obscura)
[1] Message from Major General A.E. Burnside to Major General Humphreys, Chief of Staff, July 26, 1864, OR, ser. 1, vol. 40, part 1, 136-137. [link]
[2] Wilson A. Greene, A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg: Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater, (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2018), 373-375; William H. Powell, “The Battle of the Petersburg Crater,” Battles & Leaders of the Civil War, vol. 4, (New York: The Century Company, 1887-1888), 545. [link]
[3] Ulysses S. Grant, The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, (USA [city not specified]: Seven Treasures Publications, 2009), 293-294.
[4] Greene, 376.
[5] Henry Seymour Hall, “Personal Experience of a Staff Officer at Mine Run and Albemarle County Raid, and as Commander of the 43rd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, Through the Wilderness Campaign, and at the Mine Before Petersburg, Virginia: From November 7, 1863, to July 30, 1864: A Paper Prepared and Read Before the Kansas Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, October 3, 1894,” (Leavenworth, KS: s.n.), 1894, 18. [link]; Dave Shockley, “Earthwork Management at Petersburg National Battlefield,” (Petersburg National Battlefield, 2000). [link]
[1] Message from Major General A.E. Burnside to Major General Humphreys, Chief of Staff, July 26, 1864, OR, ser. 1, vol. 40, part 1, 136-137. [link]
[2] Wilson A. Greene, A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg: Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater, (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2018), 373-375; William H. Powell, “The Battle of the Petersburg Crater,” Battles & Leaders of the Civil War, vol. 4, (New York: The Century Company, 1887-1888), 545. [link]
[3] Ulysses S. Grant, The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, (USA [city not specified]: Seven Treasures Publications, 2009), 293-294.
[4] Greene, 376.
[5] Henry Seymour Hall, “Personal Experience of a Staff Officer at Mine Run and Albemarle County Raid, and as Commander of the 43rd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, Through the Wilderness Campaign, and at the Mine Before Petersburg, Virginia: From November 7, 1863, to July 30, 1864: A Paper Prepared and Read Before the Kansas Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, October 3, 1894,” (Leavenworth, KS: s.n.), 1894, 18. [link]; Dave Shockley, “Earthwork Management at Petersburg National Battlefield,” (Petersburg National Battlefield, 2000). [link]