Description:

MASSACHUSETTS ARTILLERYMAN DESCRIBES THE DEBACLE AT THE CRATER: ‘'RUM WAS THE CAUSE OF IT'
A Union soldier's letter with excellent historical content, 8pp. 8vo., ‘Before Petersburg Va.', Aug. 4, 1864, from a member of the 11th Massachusetts Battery who signs only as ‘N.Y.F.Y', to his friend, Millie Stevens of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The writer pens a vivid description of the Battle of the Crater where, on July 30, 1864, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps exploded a mine beneath the Confederate lines defending Petersburg, but were unable to take advantage of the confusion and were repulsed by the forces of Brig. Gen. William Mahone, with great loss of life. Burnside was relieved of his command after the fiasco, and two other generals, Edward Fererro and James H. Ledlie, were tried by a court of inquiry for remaining behind the lines in a bunker drinking liquor during the attack. The letter reads, in part: ‘… You remember I have written you from time to time of the mining operations front of the ninth Corps under a large Rebel Fort. Last week the mining operations were finished, the powder was carried in (6 tons) on Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning was fixed upon for an attack by our Corps. At 4 a.m. Saturday morning the Fort was blown up killing a large number of Rebel's mostly South Carolina soldiers and dismantling their guns throwing the dirt in all directions. I was up to the front and I never will forget what a noise the explosion made, this was the signal for our Artillery to open, and immediately our Batteries on the line and others ‘some 200 guns' opened a terrific fire on the Rebels and kept up our fire about 4 hours, in the meantime our Infantry charged on the Rebel works and took the 1st line, the charged on the 2nd when the 4th Division of our Corps (colored) were brought into position every thing indicated success for us, the Rebs were leaving their Guns and works, but when they saw the colored troops, they charged on them driving them in disorder back to our works and they rushing back so it tended to confuse our white soldiers, and no commanding officers to be found to rally them for the simple reason they were in the rear drunk incapable of doing anything, that our gallant boys were defeated with great loss in killed and wounded besides losing several stands of colors and we are now in the same position we were before the attack. It was an unfortunate affair, it being the first defeat we have experienced in the Army of the Potomac since the campaign opened. It was not the fault of our brave soldiers by no means, but can be summed up in 3 letters ‘Rum was the cause of it.' On Monday a flag of truce was sent out to bring off the wounded and bury the dead, I went out on to the late battle field and truly it was a sad sight to view, one I never shall forget, our wounded had been laying between the two lines for 48 hours in the hot sun, only 21 one alive were brought off the field and their wounds were alive with maggots. You could not distinguish a white man from a colored one all turned black &c. I saw the Rebel General Will [William Mahone] and other Officers. Will is a splendid looking man. It seemed odd to see our men and the Johnnies trading when only a short time before they were trying to kill each other. I conversed with several of them and they all said if the Colored troops had been kept out of the fight we would have gained the day, but when they saw them they were determined not to surrender to them, but if some of the Genl. commanding certain Divisions had been in their right mind as they should have been no such disaster would have occurred to us. Our boys felt disheartened at first but are ready to try again and I think we will not be so unlucky. I suppose the matter will be kept quiet as to the cause but it will work out sooner or later by letters sent north from the Soldiers. I trust the Officers who are guilty will be punished as they deserve and receive the just merits due them for the conduct unbecoming in an Officer and a Gentleman. Gen. Burnside feels mortified at our defeat and I hear from good authority that several Officers in the Corps will be court martialed. I am happy to say although our Battery were under a severe fire from the Reb's Artillery and Musketry none of our boys were killed or wounded, since I wrote to you though we have had 3 men wounded severely probably one of them will lose the use of his left arm. The Battery is still in position on the skirmish line having been there since July 5th, the weather out here is very hot, but not dusty as we have at last had our long looked for, (rain storm) [all sic]…' The letter is in fine condition, showing only original mailing folds, and is very easily legible, and the original transmittal envelope, bearing the insignia of the 11th Mass. Battery, is also present. While the mining campaign that culminated at the Battle of the Crater may have been the Union army's best chance to bring the Siege of Petersburg to a swift end, its failure would meant that the campaign would drag on for another eight months, at the cost of nearly 70,000 casualties on both sides.

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November 14, 2025 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

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