The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-11-20

During the early days of July. 1864,
the Second Brigade of the Black Division,
with which l had the honor of serving.
was sent to the right of the army that be-
| sieged Petersburg, and employed for a
number Of days in building and strength
ening the Notifications in that locality.
The colored soldiers performed the duties
assigned them there, as elsewhere, pa
tiently and faithfully. OF course, we car
RED with us our arms and ammunition.
with our other equipments, as any brigade
of white troops would, although it was
not intended that we should use them
unless in case Of the unexpected happen
ing, and really carried arms more for ap-
pcarance sake than anything else. When
we arrived ut our destination our arms
were laid aside, except by the few who
were required to do guard duty, and each
regiment of the brigade furnished its
daily or nightly detail which went forth
armed with pick and shovel.
Nothing new or worthy of mention hap
pened while we occupied this location, and
later we returned to our old position in
rear of the Ninth Corps lines.
THE MINE AND THE BATTLE.
All, that terrible battle, or rather dis
aster, of The Mine" How shall l de-
scribe it? What a butchery it was
What an awful death trap it proved for
our brave boys, white as well as black.
Gen. Burnside was not military genius
nor great General, but he planned this
battle, or assault, WELL and had it been
executed with soldierly dash and courage
the result would have been different. Col.
Peasants, of the 4Sth Pa, an old miner
himself, in command Of regiment of
miners, conceived the idea Of blowing out
Of our way fort in front of the Ninth
Corps that was regarded as the key to the
Confederate position. Burnside acted on
Col. Pleasants's idea, and after securing
the seemingly reluctant consent of Gen.
Meade, the work of mining the fort be-
gan on June %. A tunnel was run $50
feet long, terminating with laterals 40
feet in each direction, exactly under the
fort, where 5000 pounds of powder were
stored and fuses laid for its explosion.
Burnside's plan was to blow out the fort,
and Immediately after charge through the
gap thus opened in the Confederate lines.
and gain the commanding position of
Cemetery HILL in their rear. Burnside
selected the Fourth Division to lead that
assault, but this selection was made with
in very few days of the battle, and al
though that fact must have been known
to Gen. FerrerO, it was known to no one
else in the division, and no preparation
whatever was made by the division to
carry out this arrangement. In fact, any
such preparation was made unnecessary
because Gen. Meade overruled Burnside
and ordered that he should select some
other division. Then, as Gen. Grant tells
us, burnside took LedIies 1.-THE Third
Divisional worse selection than the first
could have been" This was the first
blunder, but others followed in rapid sue
ceSsiOn.
Under cover of the darkness of the
m laIl nf v,rlyy 81 Ill
was massed close up to the Confederate
works, where we waited for morning and
the strife that it was to bring. On the
morning of July 80, 1864, the Army of the
Potomac held within its very CRASH n
great and far-reaching victory, that would
have given us the possession of Peters
burg, the citadel Of the Confederate Can
ital Before night we accepted in its
stead crushing and Gumiliating defeat.
simply because the general officers of the
Ninth Corps failed to obey and carry out
IN soldierly manner the orders they had
received.
The explosion of the mine was to take
place at quarter past 3 o'clock n. m.
and before that hour arrived the troops
were in column ready for action. but the
fuse failed and there we waited for an
iour and half, until two soldiers of the
4Sth Pa. replaced or repaired the fuse.
AT 10 minutes before ) o'clock the mine
exploded: blowing the whole fort into the
AIR, leaving great excavation or crater.
~ Feet deep, jO or GO feet wide. and from
iUo to 100 feet long. Immediately our ar
tillery opened and the charging column
swept forward, led by Ledlie's Division.
ana WITHIN ~ minutes after, we Of the
Fourth Division received orders to 90 for.
ward. and followed the other divisions Of
the Ninth Corps into the breach. Geo.
Il. hllmers statements that "Some time
after 6 o'clock Burnside was ordered IN
send forward his Colored Division. This
division was not on the ground, but was
back in the sheltered ways behind tbe
Union breastwOrks,' etc, are absolutely
incorrect.
Just as soon as the troops in advance
OF us had time to get out of our way. So
that we could move. we followed as in
one continuous stream. We moved ont
on donble-quick, and 100 yards or less
brought us to the Ouimost Union line: an
other 100 yards and we were abreast of
the Confederate works. Then a strange
thing happened: movement was made