Thought this might intrest someone. Sent to other lists.
Joy Bracewell
Barnwell County, SC
Researching Georgia: BRACEWELL/CROSS/DIXON/PORTER/LEWIS and many of their braches.
HistoryDaily.com - An Entertaining Look Back
By Charles Smith and Trevor Smith
July 30, 2002 on this day:
In 1864, during the American Civil War, the Battle of the Crater
occurred during the Union siege of Petersburg. Facing a Confederate
artillery position, the 48th Pennsylvania regiment persuaded General
Ulysses S. Grant to allow them to dig a tunnel and place explosives
under the Confederate position. Many of these men were miners and were
convinced that such an explosion would devastate the rebels. They
succeeded in blasting a crater sixty feet wide in the Confederate line.
After that, however, everything went wrong. Union solders rushed into
the crater, but were disorganized and their commander was in the rear
drinking rum. Many of the rank and file were among the first
African-Americans to fight for the Union. Once in the crater they became
easy targets for the Confederates, who surrounded them. Almost all of
the Union soldiers were killed.