The siege of Petersburg lasted 10 months. When Grant finally forced Lee’s army out of its trenches, the end of the war was just days away. Not much of the battlefield remains, but the National Park Service has preserved the area in which the Battle of the Crater took place.
On July 30, 1864, the Union army exploded a mine under the Confederate lines. It created a crater 170 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. 278 Confederates were immediately killed. The Union division that was supposed to attack was late setting off, and when the men arrived, instead of exploiting the breakthrough, they huddled in the hole while the Confederates regrouped. The Confederates retook the gap, suffering 1,491 casualties while inflicting 3,798 on the Union troops.
Having read about this, I wanted to see the Crater. I expected a whole in the ground that was large and impressive. When we got there, I didn’t even realize I was looking at the Crater. I expected something much larger and deeper and … well … it’s just hard for me to understand how so many people could have been killed in a hole not much bigger than a house foundation.
The tunnel entrance. The tunnel was 511 feet long. The Crater is right in front of those trees on top of the hill.
The Crater from a distance. It’s the small mound in the middle of the photo.
Three views of the Crater.
Except for a quick stop in the visitor center and the walk around the Crater path, we didn’t get out of the car.