The National tribune., 1895-02-14
IItE
VICKSBURG CRATER.
The 45th Ill. and It's Work During tn
Siege. -4stfE.

1 .~N..
| Siege. sstfl.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: It is al
right for Comrade j. T. Weisman to correct
Comrade Boring in regard 10 the breast
works at Champion Hills, for there were
none there that saw, and l went through
the battle. But with regard to Fort Hill at
Vicksburg, 1 am mistaken only as to the
number OF the regiment that relieved us in
| the crater.
Comrade Weisman says that after the ex-
| plOsion we settled down to regular siege.
What had we been doing for five weeks be-
fore the explosion?
On the 10th day of May we took our posi-
| ton on the ground occupied by Shieley's
| house. The battery to which Comrade
| Weisman belonged occupied the ground
| Immediately in front of US. On May %
| there was ordered general assault on the
whole line of the Confederate Notifications,
and we were moved from one position to
another from early in the morning until
| about 2:30 p. m. Then there was a charge
| ordered, and the 45th Iii. was the only regi-
| ment of the brigade to which belonged
| that made the charge, and we charged on
Fort Hill.
Well, of course, that Was fizzle as it waa
| an mpossibility to scale the works, even had
| q whole division made the assault.
Now, on May %, we began to make prepa-
| rations for siege. We built cover out OF
cotton bales to work behind while digging
trenches. We worked that way until we
got a start with our trenches, and kept
crawling close to the rebel works day by
day until about June 10. when there was q
detail made of sappers and miners to under
mine Fort Hill and blow it up.
The work proceeded until June 81 or %,
when it was discovered that the rebels were
at work on the other side, trying TO inter-
cept us. We had TO quit on one side and
load the mine, which we did by putting in
20 tons of powder, and fired the mine two
days before we expected to.
OF course, Col. Weisman is right in regard
to it being failure We all knew that at
the time, and Col. Weisman says the goth
and 45th ran into the crater. So we did,
for we were ordered in by Gen. John A.
Logan, and, what is more, he went in with
us and stayed there until we were relieved
in the evening
When we got into the crater we found the
Johnnies on one side, and drove them out
in about Is minutes. It was hand-to-hand
fight. In regard to the 24lpound shells that
Comrade Weisman speaks OF, they only used
very few of them, rs they were too heavy to
throw some 40 feet, and they abandoned the
idea.
Now, the boys who lost their hands lost
them by the grenades thrown by the John
MES. They were small shell, weighing
about three pounds, aid they cut their fuses
too long. Our boys would pick them up
and throw them back. and some three or
four of them exploded in their hands.
The cOmrade wants to know what ammu-
milton was the wrong oealiBer. Why, the
minie-balls used in the Enfield rifles, of
which we were armed, as we had not been
armed with cannon Mt that time.
] repeat that we were relieved about 8
o'clock in the evening and another regiment
took our place, and for some cause or other
they were driven oat and we had to go
back,-that ia, the Goth and 45th Illa.,-and
we were in the crater until after daylight
the morning of the 25th of June. After
that we went on with the siege the same as
we had gone before until July 3. On that
day / held Gen. Grants horse while the
surrender was made, and was not over 40
feet from Grant and PembertOn while they
were in conversation. On the night of the
Sd of July stood guard on top OF Fort Hill
at my own request so that could see inside
of the fort. On the morning of the 4th of
July the old flag of the 18th Ill. was raised
on the dome of the courthousei in Vicksburg,
and was the first flag foated over the CITY
after the surrender.-D. NJ. ALLEN, Co. f,
45th ILL.,, Fremont, Neb.