The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-01-21

and in the gray OF morning there STOOD
Burnside's whole corps in battle line,
every man knowing Of the mine, and
every man believing that success was
sure. The last regiment down had been
standing in line half IN hour when tho
stars paed, dim light crept over the
fields, and men whispered to each other
that they coald see the flag on the fort.
The momert had come for the explosion,
and a whole corps was trembling with
eXcitemens
THE FIRST BLUNDER.
Men who had planned, excavated and
placed the powder could surely be trust
ed to lay tho fuse and light it, but either
fear or careIossness upset the whole plan.
The fuse bu ned little way and then
the fire dies out, Daylight came faster
and grew broader From being barely
able TO discern the flag flying over tho
sleeping fort, the soldiers could, at
length, see the roofs and spires of Peters
burg, mile aud half away. Reveille
was sounded all along the Confederate
lines when a volunteer descended the
shaft, replaced the fuse and made sure
of his work.
THE EXPLOSION.
There first came slight heaving of
the earth then a sinking down, and all
nj once the fort rose in u cloud OF flame
and smoke, and the ground shook for a
mile around. Even before the sods and
dirt had ceased falling the New York
Fourteenth Artillerymen were dashing
into the cloud of smoke, closely followed
by whole brigade.
WHAT THEY SAW.
As the men rushed for the spot where
the fort mad stood they found the ugly
hole which has since been known as the
Crater The burned and blackened and
mangled bodies of nearly POO Confeder-
ates were lying in and around the pit,
some half buried in the dirt, some gasp
ing in agony, and some crushed to pulp
under the heavy guns which had follow
ed them into the air and fallen back to
earth with an awful thud. The fort had
been swept away, and here was the gap,
but to pass through Lees lines the Fed
erals must jump down those ragged
banks, Chamber over that horrible debris
and scramble up height of twenty-five
feet and reform. Those who had plan
ned the destruction of the fort had not
planned this horrible death-trap for Fed
eral soldiers, but it was TO prove one,
Just the same.
FORWARD! FoRwARDH
Wild with excitement the officers cried
"Forwardr and company after company
and regiment after regiment tumbled
into the pit on one side and tried TO
climb out on the other All organization
was at once lost, and the horrible sights
in the pit dampened all enthusiasm. 1t
was mob in the Crater--a shouting,
struggling mob, and when one got out
three fresh men charged in as the as
saulting columns advanced.
1T WAS A SURPRISE
To the Confederates, even when so
many were awake and daybreak had
come. Had this explosion taken place
as planned. Lees lines would have been
| broken. AS it was, the men in the two
| flanking forts were so dumbfounded
and dazed by the shock that not gun
was fired until the rumble of Grant $
cannon had gone clear down his lines
and back and the Crater was full of
Federals Then the Confederates real
| lied the situation and acted quickly.
The fort was gone, but the parallels had
not been disturbed Moving to the
threatened point from right to left they
soon had force enough to hold the gap.
Indeed they soon held the pit with its
mob of disorganized soldiers, and not a
man could raise his head without re-
ceiying a bullet.
| FORWARD TO DEATHn'
At Fredericksburg, when Burnside
found his assault upon Mary's Hill re.
sulting only in horrible slaughter he
appeared to grow wild and reckless. Al
the Crater, when he found his columns
of assault checked by the pit, he contin
ued to add to its horrors by urging for
ward other columns. The space between
the fort and the thicket was then Z
plowed field, barren of even BUSH
This space was soon covered by the
guns Of the Confedorates, and after th'
ground had been hoaped with deaC
there was a general retreat to cover
The brigades which had hanked The
Crater had not come prepared with aye
to tear away the GteUauT-detriSe pro
tecting the earthworks, and as a conse
1uence not q man passed 1t. lt seem
almost past belief at this day that afte
5000 men had been slaughtered in AM
around the Crater, and while at least
thousand living ones were cooped up il
the pit and unable to get out, Burnsid
ordered up the negro troops and pile
them in on top of the veterans who ha
gone before. Such was the case, how
ever, and white and black, private an
officer, were mixed together in a terri
fled mob and held prisoners in the hol
until General Bartlett raised the whit
flag and surrendered to the Confedei
ateS.
FIRING INTO THE CRATER.
! After the Confederate fire had bee
trained on the space between the thick
ct and the Crater, those who attempte
to retreat from the latter met certai
death. Some of the killed on this spc
81 e.. Ill. 4. A ~ n