Into the Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg
Since the 2003 release of the movie “Cold Mountain,” there have been several recent works dealing with the July 30, 1864, attack on the Confederate works at Petersburg, commonly referred to as the Battle of the Crater. Unfortunately, most of these works have suffered from a lack of new sources or new interpretations. For serious scholars, the seminal work has remained Mike Cavanaugh and Bill Marvel’s 1980s The Horrid Pit. Now, with Hess’ Into the Crater, historians finally have THE work on this terrible battle. Hess, a professor and long-time scholar of the entrenchments at Petersburg, has taken his years of research into the campaign and produced a tremendous book. This study is a history of the battle and its aftermath, the composition of the Confederate entrenchments, and assessment of blame for failure of the assault. His use of sources, especially many never before cited, is helpful in understanding how this complicated battle unfolded. The engagement unfolds on the regimental and company levels in a detail that few authors of any battle have been able to provide. This is military history at its best. Many recent studies of the Crater have focused on the horrific treatment that members of the United States Colored Troops suffered at the hands of their Confederate captors; the Confederates murdered many captured black soldiers in cold blood. Hess again peels back the layers of this controversy to expose how and why these men were killed. He also provides examples of some humanity among a handful of Confederate officers who tried to prevent the murders from happening. The atrocity was, however, a sign of the times, as Southerners were still not ready to accept blacks fighting in Virginia against white Virginians. Many of the same fears that were apparent during John Brown’s 1859 raid had increased by 1864. While most blame Ambrose Burnside exclusively for the failure of the assault, Hess argues that this view is invalidated by the official reports of the subsequent court of inquiry. Some blame has to be given to George Meade for not allowing Burnside to engage in the mission as he saw fit, in addition to not properly supporting him with elements of the Fifth Corps. Indeed, Meade was to blame as much as any Ninth Corps officer. This insight is again a testament to Hess’ ability to pull back the veil of time and attempt to better understand what actually happened. In conclusion, this is the greatest study yet produced on the Battle of the Crater. Hess’ combination of deep research, tremendous scholarship and sharp ability to make a point has produced a book that belongs on the bookshelf of every serious historian of the Eastern campaigns. This book will stand the test of time as the definitive study of this horrific battle. Reviewer: Robert Grandchamp Robert Grandchamp is a historian working out of New England. He has authored seven books, including, The Seventh Rhode Island Infantry, The Boys of Adams’ Battery G, and the forthcoming A History of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, 1801-2010. He holds an M.A. in American History from Rhode Island College. |
Illustrated, maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, 344 pp., 2010. University of South Carolina Press,