The Washington herald., 1914-07-23
THE WAR DAY BY DA 7
Fifty Years Ago.
July l964-h Fsdeas Beeng Petersburg Completed Mine, in
Front Of the Ninth Army Corps BY Which They PupOsed
Breaehing Confederate Works. and Opening Way Into the City

Col Peasants plan was submitted to
Gen. Burnside. who laid 1t before Gen.
George G. Meade, commanding the Army
Of the Potomac. Gen. Meade submitted
It TO Gen. Grant. and it received his ap-
proyal.
Work was begun by Col. Peasants and
his men on June =. They had no suit
able mining tools or other equipment and
no effort was made to supply them with
what they needed. The ingenuity there
fore was taxed to supply tools and mate
rial. Mining picks were shaped by the
army artihcers from ordinary picks used
by the pioneers. Planks for use in the
chambers were secured by tearing down
a bridge and saving the timbers at a
mill six miles in the rear. in country held
by the enemy. Hand-barrows for car
rying dirt were made from cracker boxes.
Fresh Air for Workers.
The miners worked with enthusiasm
in spite OF extremely hot weather. and
excavation went on rapidly in the first
week OF labor.
On July wet ground was reached and
the timbetng of the gallery gave way.
nearly trapping the workmen. The work
of retimbering the gallery was quickly
accomplished and the work was resumed.
a stratum of mari. Whose consistency
was like putty. Progress through this
was so slow that Col Peasants started
an inclined plane. TO avoid it. In about
10 feet this rose l3 1-2 feet
Ventilation for the workers was secured
by e conduit of boards which led to a
square shaft twenty-five feet high, corn
ing to the surface inside the works. To
induce a draft a fire was built at the
bottom OF this chimney The heated air.
rising. drew out the gases caused by the
breathing Of the workmen. the burning
OF candles and the exhalations of the
earth in the gallery. Later fresh air
was forced through the tube and the
vitiated air escaped through the tunnel
Ready for Charging.
On July IT the main gallery Of the mine
was completed. II being SOS feet long
The workers in the end Of the gallery
could hear the footsteps OF the enemy
over their heads and the thud Of their
picks as they searched for the mine.
Judging that he was now under the
main line Of their works, Col Peasants
on July IS started lateral gallery to
the right. This he curved to bring II to
one side Of the spot where the enemy
seemed to be working. Another gallery
was also started to the left Work on
this was stopped July - at midnight, II
being thirty-seven feet long Work on
the right gallery. which was thIrty-eIEht
feet long. was stopped at p. m. July q.
Nearly 400 men had worked on the
mIne-nearly every man in Col. Pleas
ants regiment having had a hand In Il.
The material excayated was about 1900
cubic feet.
The mine ws now ready for charging.
but Gen. Grant withheld the order for
putting In the powder until he could
make a movement that would weaken
the forces defending the works This he
did by sending a heavy force north Of
the James River as IL to advance on
Richmond forcing Gen. Lee to dstach
troops to meet II.
The mine was. finally charged July .
with about 5000 pounds of powder. This
was carried into the wing galleries in
kegs, and tamped into eight wooden
that were connected with
each other by troughs half filed with
powder. These troughs met at the end
Of the main gallery, and from that point
three lines Of fuses ran ninety-eight feet
toward the outlet.
CThe explosion Of the mine will be
described July 3O)
Tomorrow Federals defeated at
near wiAchester.
tCopJright Dtkl