The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-09-29

800 frss.ls. A nav I ~ parsa-
thstieAlly. that this pietaSe 10 only
pAls reelection az what the scourxe
Of war means. Fron Il We may learn
the truth Of Victor Hugo's saynG'
The sword - but . Mucous lash Ia
the dark"
II would be teAiouu 70 trace tn
nonotonous life Of the young soldier
at Gloucester Point from May 1851 70
April 1861: to tell Of the forced marcn
Of his command from Gloucester 20
the lines around Richmond; OF tne
fearfully bloody battle Of Seven Pines
where the company received it mrs.
awful baptism OF IRE; Of the long ana
monotonous camp life at Cha0ns Earn.
where the company was assfSneo 70
duty N Company TX" 3Sth virginia
Infantry: Of his participates In the
S,uth Carolina campaign OF iseS-S4; o.
his return to Virginia in the spring 81
1864 nd the active corporation OF ms
regiment in the Bermuda Hundred cam
paign, OF which General Grant. IN ols'
gust describing the ignomin3o us de.
feat of General Butler. commanoer ~
the Army OF the James. SAN: ne
failed to shut the backdoor to Hen-
nond and succeeded In having ME
army bottled Up at Bermuda
sufhce il to be said that during All
these years the young soldier bore hi".
self with dignity. with courage Ana
with honor. Though q private. ana ..
youthful appearance. ne SO attfacSee
the attention Of his ofneers that ne
was detailed for special service -
aide de camp TO General Henry a. Wise'
the commander OF his brtgaae.
The history Of General Crants cam
paign by the left hank from the HAD
pshannock to the de1enses sfouns
Petersburg" 10 too familiar TO need
any deycription. The best equipped
army ever marshalled on American soil
crossed the Rappahannock on Nay D.
1894, with q total roll Of i4i.iso. men
M for duty. in the neld. To meet TINS
vest force Lee could muster barely
more than $4,000 men.
In the S,uthern Historical Papers
Vol VI. page la. there aOeeafs tns
following statement: Grant says NJ
lost in the campaign from the Wiidef'
ness TO Cold Harbor 39.eee, but Swin'
ton puts his loss as 10000 and care
fnl examination OF the hgurss VIII
show hts real loss WAS nearer l00'"oe
men"
From Cold Harbor. fwhere his men
stubbornly refuse to 81 hks domo
animals into the jaws OF oeAtn.) 70
the battle Of the Crater. General Grant
in his official reports shows loss OF
es.43s men. making . TOTAL loss as aa.
United of ss.s3s, just about one-hail
of ,he vas. army which commenced the
campaign Such tremendous losses to
the enemy meant OF necessity ire
ma rable losses to our army. even though
General Lee had repealed pra cticalIy
every assault. and succeeded in carry
tnx a large majority Of the aggressive
movements made BY him.
In the light OF sucn experiences. u
was not surprising thar General Grant
sousht acme other ara di6erent means
Of assault than those or0lnA<fly EN-
ployeA. % with the greatest care It
Wa planned, as IN fmp7rtaat adjunct
to another general. ana no believer.
anal assault upon tns defenses OF
Petersburg. that . mine unoer our
works should be excavated and sprung
at the commencement OF the atiAcA.
The excavation was csmmenced on
Juue q and completed on July 70. The
main gallery Of the mine was sss zee.
in length aAA the size OF the galleries
w>s 40 feet each. Series / Vel H.
Part I. War Of RsAellion. Dp. 13s-s.
sss-ss.)
On July - General Grant issued an
order that this general assault should
be made on the next day leaving All
Of the details, including the springing
OF the mine. 70 Najor-General Meade,
and he on the same day issued in
structions for the guidance Of all con-
cernsd." Among these was the follow
ing:
g. At $3.50 in the morning OF the
30 Mator-0eneral Burnside VIII sprins
his mine. and his assaulung columns
VIII Immediately move rapidly upon
the breach. seize the crest In the rear
end effect q Judgment there. :.
Upon the explosion OF the mine the
artillery. of all KINDS In battery VIII
open upon those points Of the enemys
WORK. whose IRE covers the ground
over which our columns must move.
Udem p. 1850
Accordin9 {, the report Of the Court
OF Inquiry ordered by General Grant
to determine the cause Of the 'miser-
able fstlrrs OF Saturday" the mine was
not sxplodsa untfl 4:4s, just one hour
and 1fteen uatnutes after the appointed
hour. In the report of Colonel Pleas
ants. Of the 18th Pennsylvania InfAn-
try. who slammed the mine and SUPER
intended its construeti7n and witnessed
the explosion and its effect upon our
lines, II II sata:
Il stood on top OF cur breast-works
and witnessed the eject Of the explo-
sion on the enemy. It 20 completely
parAlyxed them that the bfeech We
geo or 500 yards In breadth.
The rebels in the f1res. both On the
righ, and left Of the sxp1ooaon left
their werks, and for over IN hour not
q shot was fred BY their ARTILLERY
There was no IRE from infantry frO0
the freaf for at least half "a hour:
none from the left for twenty minutes.
and but few shots from the right"
General Grant On the day Of the ex-
plosfan and after he had learned Of 1tS
failure. but before he vas aware q
how disastrous The fAilure was, thus
reported to General Halleck, Chief Of
stan:
Having q mine prepared running for
\ distance OF eighty feet along the
enemy's parapet. and about twenty-five
feet below the surface Of the 81 ouud
ready loaded. and covered ways made
near to his line was strongly In