The Coolidge examiner., 1932-07-15


kSN9 to the historic event which oc-
kse7kzG1f!:NH CURED there, a patriotic shrine
to which Americans can come for
renewed inspiration by standing upon the soil
made sacred by the sacrifices of previous gen.
erations of Americans there; and II is mill
tary classroom and an outdoor laboratory
where future defenders of the nation may study
the lessons in military science which will help
them in that defense
The Petersburg national military park Is the
fifth and latest of such areas to be established
but few of the others are more interesting from
either point of view. 1t derives its historic
interest from the fact that here occurred the
dying struggle of the Confederacy, for when
the Union army broke through the Confederate
lines at Fort Gregg on April ., 1865, this vic
tory ended months and II days of siege ''the
longest siege on American SOIL" and II spelled
death to the Confederate cause Richmond, the
heart of the COnfederacy, was cut off from the
rest of the South when Petersburg the head
of navigable tdewater and the focus of the
various railroads and highways which brought
supplies and reinforcements to the capital fell
After that Lees surrender to Grant at Appamat-
tox inevitable, even though it was delayed
seven days.
AS a field for the military student the Peters
burg area is important because Ii has In a fine
state of preservation more than 25 miles OF
fertilization with thousands OF feet of tunnels
still intact But the most important fact is the
similarity between this campaign OF more than
half a century ago and the principal campaign
in the more recent World war For United
States army officers are the authority for the
statement that ''the military operations con-
nected with the siege of Petersburg contained
every feature of strategy and tactics that be-
gan in the race from the Marne TO the English
Channel between the Allied armies and the
forces of the Central Powers each seeking to
outhank the other and ending when the Allies
burst through the German lines in the Argonne
forest just the Federals crumpled the Con-
federate lines at Petersburg"
But to the average American unfamiliar with
the intricaces of military science the principal
appeal of the national military park, now
comprising some POI acres with the possibility
of later having a total area of SIG acres lies
in the numerous human interest" angles to
the story of this siege and the battles which
preceded and followed ii, in the tales of herosm
the part of both the men who wore the Blue
and those who wore the Gray which are con-
jured up by visit to this historic place
Early in 1864 Grant. baked in every attempt
to defeat Lee north of the Confederate capital
and thus make good the war-cry of ION to
Richmond" which had been raised in the earli-
est days of the war. decided TO swing around.
cross the James river and strike Richmond
from the south. But Petersburg. "the back door
OF the Confederacy" stood in the way
The first battle in the fighting around Peters
burg, although 1t was little more than skr-
mish, furnishes one of the cherished traditions
of the lost cause and supplied an incident in
which all Americans can take pride At that
time Petersburg was garrisoned by Wise's
veteran brigade hut with it stood the Peters
burg Home Guard composed of every old man
and young boy who was able to lift musket
and squeeze a trigger and it to this little
group less than 200 strong that the glory of
June 9, 1864 goes.
On that date one of Grants subordinates
Gen. r. F. Butler sent General Gilmore with
5000 infantry and General KautZ with 1500
cavalry to capture Petersburg and destroy
the Appamattox Bridge" The cavalry led the
advance and Immediately struck a stiff resist
ance from the Home Guards. For some time
the 200 held the 1900 at bay, then with half
their force dead or disabled the Home Guards
were forced back upon the advancing Confed-
crate regulars. But they had held up Kautz's
advance long enough to save Petersburg.
Again week later the city might have been
taken but for laundering upon the part of the
Union generals which resulted in a fearful
loss of their men and led to the prolonged siege
of nine months instead of precipitating a run
ming fight between Lee retiring to the west
and Grant in hot pursuit. During the nine
months when Petersburg was invested skir-
mishes occurred almost daily, totaling some $50
minor engagements. The most famous of these
was the spectacular explosion of the Crater,
one of the most dramatic incidents of the whole
war The following account of it is taken from
a history of the operations around Petersburg
prepared by Capt Jeffry Montague of the Unit
ed States army:
There was a regiment of Pennsylvanians in
Burnsides COPS the Forty-eighth infantry,
mostly coal miners, and their commander, a