Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-15
SANDERS BRIGADE.
BY JUDGE W. R. HoUGHToN.

to the left and, crossing the James river
q 5ontoons, suddenly threw large part
= is army against Petersburg. Gen. Lee
ing to move by longer line and
:; sss two bridges, was unable to meet
federals with anything like equal
nu.nbers, and there was a terrible strug-
lie to save Petersburg on the 18th and
TIL days of June Hoods old division,
commanded at that time by Gen. Fields,
to which the writer belonged arrived at
the front line during the night of the
18th of June, and took position behind
the dine which had fought all day, and
when light daWned we found that we
We're in close range of the enemy ana
without works in an open field. With
bayonets for picks and tin cups for
spades we speedily threw up earthworks,
which afterwards formed part of the ia
nous line of defense.
Just to our left, and east of the city,
was slight elevation, and here the lines
were only about hundred yards apart,
and firing was incessant. Men would
load and fire for two hours in the night,
wake up the relief and lie down in the
trenches. The relief would often stand
with one foot on each side of the head of
sleeping comrade and fire until relieved.
Burnsides' corps faced us at this point,
and he reported that without a battle
in about month he lost 1,150 men, most
ly killed.
The colonel of a Pennsylvania regi-
ment, composed mostly of miners, sug-
gested a mine to blow up our works, and
obtained the consent of the commander.
A tunnel about five feet square and ITO
feet long was run from their lines to
point under our works, and then under
our works on each side with chambers
cut in the earth. In these chambers was
placed powder. 5000 pounds, and the
tunnel filled with sand bags to confne
the force of the powder. Our engineers
s. had discovered that the enemy was tun-
neling, and had sunk a shaft at that
point, but not deep enough to reach the
tunnel.
Meantime Grant made preparations to
make the blow effective. He crossed the
James river to Deep Bottom, near NAL
vern Hill, with a large force, and this
caused Gen. Lee to carry five of the eight
divisions which composed his army and
one brigade over to the north side of the
James to meet.the demonstration. Grant
recrossed the James at night, and had his
whole army massed to take advantage of
the explosion of the mine, whilst less
than three-eighths of the confederates
were opposed to him.
The federals had eighty-one heavy guns
and mortars besides many pieces of light
artillery, bearing on the point to be as
saulted, including a division of negroes
of $500 men, were massed in covered
ways ready to spring upon the thin line
in front as soon as the explosion TOOK
place. This was ordered at $3.50 a. m.
on the 30th of July, 1864. but the fuse was
defective and was rellghted after the
lapse of half an hour, and at 4:45 there
was a vast upheaval of earth, resulting In
a crater about thirty feet deep, fifty wide
and 200 long. Many of our men, one
colonel were buried under the masses of
clay, and their bodies still remain there.
The forward division of the army pour
ed over the intervening space into the
crater and the adjoining works. 1t had
better be explained here that our works
were formidable. First, there was an
earthwork six feet high with broad
trench behind it. AT intervals banks of
earth called traverses were thrown up
perpendicular to these works to prevent
an enfilade fire. Then there was a cover
ed way some fifty feet in the rear, which
was broad ditch with the earth thrown
up on the side next to the enemy. and in
tended to cover re-enforcements-those
bringing in ammunition and rations-as
well as for carrying out the dead and
wounded. Besides these there were nu-
merous cross bitches, sinks, etc. which
cut up the ground.
The enemy took possession of these
works and the crater on each side for
distance of more than 100 yards, and,
once in them, the works afforded security
against any attack by our men except
direct charge into them and mortar
W. al M eaoora linz ond only n fau
,,o,tors ,,,annod hy, Iass tbon fifty ,,,en
49, ~ $500, ond petarsblrg
Tta1 ~ y .,t,;c ~ a. bnt 70 ,,oo,,a for
10y -. - ~ ~ I,ii1 ond pe+ars
49,, ~ .iu ,,,tSi, tha Inv GRO en- Rnt tba
ours we" is mi'l nf .hn nos1 napn+b nv this
Si,s go, ~ o,,,, .nb ora the
I.i, oit 4h 90 ~ ae rot eaSv ~ vi,
fno',, a. ,,,S of NortIar,, VIZ
@ny inns III ote ~ 800 oe n,a,Ioto,,t
7ida, as w. a. ,ha enor,1 70 sto-, T., Az
adia, r' nIars go e+ -,
49, 80 of n,,, ,;na ~, ~ e
- 90 ta,. fro,, CIV troons IIa,e ~ oo
eli t,,o ~ ea,,ara r., -, 4,,.I .aIe
fr,oad y iitt1o fnrt ana 10 5aeos
n.i dasaarntio,, 6o aiu tt so
~, ~ ~ 80. oiie a. INC ue
wv of tiaea go, h M out shiee, anu
,hi,t ~ .uo ~ ne HneIiins
90 a eost &C. Nv roauu uiS III MN,
81 @a raod 90 a. an sneehy "ouiu try 70
49, ,,,,+i ~ unu ~ Tue r ne
"a W., ,s,-',e nien zen me
a "tlu Wa l., Tue woins ~ tne enemy
tbe o,est "nu srna,,t bu y, o tue "
P,,rnstd ~ .,io, ~ y, al, VI IRE
o.tan,line eoo go ~ VI me
pIaraa p, ,ora tronr1s I,,, SOL po9is LII
Serd intn the sneoe pI,a "5iu auSn1o ~