The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-02-09
. III Eli.or.lMc .>luic.


victory at the crater in front of
Petersburg. VA. on the Both day Of
July. i~5, for CEN Malone and The
Nirginian
We are not ,nrprisc,i at that In
fact. ,hre has aiway~ been "a contcn-
t.on between Elliott, men and Ma
lone sniicr> a> to which Of the two
nmanl did the most fighting on
lhal my. l:u; when Il prominent
~utl agolnilu before South Car.
ina audience no. only follow IN he
same Inc hut >ays that Elliott men
were - ,cmoralizcd chat they were
replaced N the Ines by fresh troops
brought UP from the flank- by Gen.
Lee | think that it j. time that the
survivors uf the Old 1ri-a'ic come
forward and tel wiilr tli-y know about
that ba,r!c
1t i, evident thar hc people Of our
own State do not understand how that
battle was fought wlIo conducted it.
what troops were engaged, or how it
wa possible for l.lliutt's brigade to
hold the lines at the crater in front Of
Petersburg, VA. nn the :;0th day Of
July, l~';l. against such fearful odds.
Thc battle Of the crater was one Of
the most important battles Of the war,
and it, result had more effect upon
the minds Of the Northern people than
any other battle OF the war On the
next day the propriety Of Offering
terms of peace to the. South was free
Is discussed in the Northern cities
Gold went up to 2'o, the highest
point i; ever reached. But the bat
tie Of Allatoona was fought and lost
by our western army few days after
ward, and the prospects Of peace went
down with their defeat.
How can our people understand
how Elliott brigade held 800 900
troops with 50 pieces Of artillery, con
ccutrated at that point by Gen. Grant.
no doubt for the purpose Of breaking
through cur lines at the crater and
then swinging his tremendous army
right and left and thu. destroy our
army, unless it is told by those old
survivors who were there?
The minc was s.,rung on the ::o.k
day Of July, 1861, at {; o'clock in the
morning. Two Kindred and fifty
scvcn Of l,lliott'S brigade were killed
or wounded by the blow up. Elliott's
brigade held the lines, fighting the
enemy without assistance, except
from the artillery, until Gen. Malone
arrived with his two brigadcs (his own
and Sanders) five hours after the
mine was sprung. When Gen. Ma
hone arrived he dcploycd his troops
and charged the crater, it being
packed with II 900 federal troops that
had been driven there by Elliott's
brigade, and the artillery under Col.
Haskell and Major Colt.
Major Colts guns were on the next
hin to the left Of the crater, and had
swept the hill in front Of the mine
with grape and canister from tho
time the mine was sprung to the
close Of the battle. Cel. Haskell was
posted just in rear Of our position,
near the crater, and did heroic work
with his morMrs and other guns.
Gen. Malone ran his men up under
the very blnks Of the crater. Small
mortars were brought up and bursting
shells were hurled into that huddled
up mass Of humanity inside the era
ter. The white flag was hoistcd i'll
due time and they surrendered.
1t has been learned since shc war
that when Gen. Grant arrived at the
headquarters of Gen. Meade, at about
10 o'clock, on finding that our lines
Seli held out, nc ordered his troops
to retire from our lines: saying to
Gen. Meade that if he, Gen. Meade.
could not break through our lines
when the mine was first sprung he
could not expect to do so three hours
afterwards.
1t may be asked why the Fedcrais
had not retired from the crater before
Gen. Malone made his charge? They
could not leave the crater without be-
ing exposed to almost certain death.
When the mine was sprung the enemy
had been brought up very near our
lincs-in fact, they were SO close that
some of them were killed and some
wounded by the explosion. They
rushed into our lines at once, expect
ing that the Confcdcratcs would be
demoralized, that they would desert
their works and that they, the FEEDER
ais, would have a "wnlkover," but
they we're attacked at once By the 22d