The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-11-12
FIELD OF blood
WAS TIE CRAlER
Address Delivered at Reunion OF
Mahone's Men in Peters
burg.
a SHOT At HISTORIANS
Lieutenant Colonel Stewart ,s'';r,
Chief Of the Crater Legion,
Tells Of Awful Fight.
SHOT At HISTORIANS

Is b
Chief Of the Crater Legion,
Tells Of Awful Fight.
81 rr,,o following address was delivered ut
i the reunion OF the survivors of the Battle
of the Crater in connection with the
Grand Camp reunion In petersburg Octo-
her 9Gth bv Eeutenant-Colonel William
q. stewart, of Portsmouth. 1t Was 70
"A nave been delivered on the old battlefield
4 that day. but as bad weather broke up
the sham battle the survivors heard II N N
the hall OF the reunion Unsteady.
The goodness of God endureth forever '
Il thank Him for an ovcr-deserv!ng share,
and HESS His name for this day and This
privilege of meeting you.
Our nilgrimnge to this field OF blood re-
e calls the evenrful times OF war. w nieil,
although resulting II, final surrender, MS
8 eInbal1ned It's sacred memories IN our
s hearts Those sacrlficlal years VIII ever
Il be regarded with tenderness and love
H days OF thrilling danger, lons maTe Arches
and short rations invoke the highest Ideal
of manhood.
',rhey say that hope is happiness,
But genuine love must prize the past;
And memory makes the thoughts that
They rose the first, they set the last"
s..And all that memory loves the most
Was once our only hone 10 be:
And all that hope adored ana lost
# Hath melted into memory.
the bunlblest private soldier, whose shoe,
< less feet made blood ira cks on the SOIL
4 of Virginia than the richest nlagnate who
ever clipped coupons from corporate
bonds.
Who would not suffer for ire honor of a
(. soldier rather than live IN luxury 10 Dc
the 4sneer OF time2
Who would notahave the name Of ne
his fists in the bloody trenches Of the
4 Crater rather than those who gathered
gold from orphans hunger and widow
g tears?
Comrades. spenk nov to demand 1,,ns,, sim I'M.
q the men who saved Petersburg on the
goth day of July, 1864. The greatest gen
eral of, the Federal army, its comman-
of his assault upon the Confederate posi-
ton, which 5000 pounds of gunpowder had
destroyed in the cleaning of that morn
The great plan "that was expected to
4 scatter and destroy the army Of General
Lee was a 4failure'--an cutter. and disas-
troas failure" and th be. Fsde n,s, core &c
t sSl said ftSa have the confsdsrnies
Is won encomiums for valor, but never be-
Z fore did they light with such uncontroli-
q Hble speration.
Gold went UP TO It's highest notch as
B compared with greenbacks--two dollars
III pnd eighty cents In paper for one in gold,
~ which made the average price OF gold IN
July, 1864, the highest during the whole
war; and If the financial Thermometer IS
a eny guide, the Confederate States were
nearer TO independence on the day OF the
Il Crater than at any other time during the
- t,S-n = h,, ~
md the Southern republic,
" The New York Herald" advised that
an embassy should be sent to the Con-
f. dreadful war cannot be ended in Il nlu-
tuaily satisfactory treaty OF peace" This
is evidence from a hostile source Of what
d the artillery and infantry of the Conftd-
crates accomplished on his fateful field.
Yet when you read some Southern HIS
torres. you VIII find the charge of the
+ Crater entirely ignored or dismissed With
y sentence. a paragraph or perhaps a
page.
Ex-President Davls's History after CIV
Ing DESCRIPTION Of The mine an, and a ,,.s
4 OF the Crater qpg an auii1op MO
Of the infantry of Alahone. only noticing
Z the fire of the artillery, ana the con-
a fusion of the enemy's troops, and then
Mr.. Davis concludes The forces of the
way back with q loss OF about four
thousand prisoners, and General LED
Il. whose casusItts were small rc-cSta DSh-
sd his line wlthou, interruption."'
You might conclude from reading his
account, that the dsordered ranks OF
the enem", demmali2ed by artillery fire.
x Is lost heart. relrSated Ut leisure or waited
TO be rescued from lie excavation hut
finally making their way back without Il
bayonet thrust or Il SWORD stroke, The
accuracy OF this Is IN Keeping with hts
claim of four thousand prisoners VINO
actually numbered l,lUl,
He gives no credit to the men of the.
three brlEades, "Eo charged up this bin
two hundred yards, ana fought hand to
hand foot 10 foot with bagoRets and
butts pistols and swords as despcras ely
and darnsty as eye, recorded iGGthe an
Il halls of war; and took from Burnside Il ne
IA teen Gags {MaRoRe Is, Sanders 9. Wright
u. Then that yoluminoUs Confederate
Military H!siorH IN giving its account.
leaves out entirely HE charge OF the
j Alabama Brigade undrr the chiyalrops
Sanders.
5 / shall always remember the splendid
manner IN which that glorious brigade
did the final act which enabled General
Lee To re-estab llsh his line without in
terfuPuon."
Mahone's Brigade had re-captured the
works on tha left zip 10 the excavation,
and / could look back and see the Ala
charge IN beautiful array up. 10 The rm
.a& Of the Crater. 4heid by Bartlett, whore,
after a short struggle, tho white flag
went UP and Bartlett and his men came
out as Sanders's prisoners OF war No
troops eyer acted more brilliantly on any
field than Aiabnmais faithful SONS under
the lead Of gallant Sanders on that
am not unnlindfuI OF The wonderful work
sF5 Of Cur artillqynen, and you saw the