The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-07-15

W T.
AfttS joys the distinction of having a
tSL% double purpose. 1t is memorial
LsSRA,a&A to the historic event which &C.
k@Zl1!::?S9 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 it is a mill
tary classroom and an outdoor war 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 April 2, 1865, this vic
tory ended months and IL days of siege, "the
longest siege American SOIL" and it 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 tidewater 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, though it was delayed
seven days.
AS a field for the military student the Peters,
state of preservation more than % 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 century ago and the principal campaign
in the more recent World war. For United
States army officers are the authority for the
statement that 1.-The military operations con-
nected with the siege of Petersburg contained
every feature of strategy and tactics that be-
Tho Tho Mos TO tha pnlic CHI
Channel between the Allied armies and the
forces of the Central Powers, each seeking to
outfank the other and ending when the Allies
burst through the German lines in the Argonne
forest just as the Federals crumpled the Con-
federate lines at Petersburg"
But to the average American, unfamiliar with
the intricacies of military science, the principal
appeal of the new 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 it, in the tales of herOism
on the part of both the men who wore the Blue
and those who wore the Gray which are con-
jured up by a 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 "On to
Richmond" which had been raised in the earli-
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 it was little more than a skir-
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 garrsoned by Wise's
veteran brigade but with it stood the Peters
b,,rr of old ppop
and young boy who was able to lift a musket
and squeeze a trigger, and it to this little
group less than 200 strong that the glory of
June g. 1864 goes.
On that date one of Grants subordinates,
Gen. b. F. Butler, sent General Gilmore with
1900 infantry and General Kautz with 1.500
cavalry to capture Petersburg and destroy
the Appamattox Bridge" The cavalry led the
advance and Immediately struck stiff resist
ance from the Home Guards. For some time
the 200 held the 1900 at bay. then with half
their force dead disabled the Home Guards
were forced back upon the advancing Confed-
crate regulars. But they had held up KautZs
advance long enough to Petersburg.
Again week later the city might have been
taken but for laundering upon the part of the
Union generals which resulted in fearful
loss of their men and led to the prolonged siege
of nine months instead of precipitating a run
and Grant in hot pursuit During the nine
months when Petersburg invested Skin
mishes occurred almost daily, totaling some $50
minor engagements. The most famous of these
was the spectacular explosion of the Crater.
of the most dramatic incidents of the whole
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 a regiment of Pennsylvanians in
Burnside's corps, the Fortyeighth infantry,
mostly coal miners. and their commander
mining engineer Leut.-Col. Henry Peasants in
the latter part of June thought it would start
something if it could make a breach in the
Confederate line about $50 yards in front of
him, by mining Elott's salient and blowing it
up. The idea went forward through channels,
received Meade's and Grants approval and
Burnside got orders to put it into effect and
exploit the opening Grant thought enough
troops could be poured through the crevasse to
capture Petersburg.
'Ferrero's negro division was being trained
by Burnside to lead the assault through the
breach to be caused by the mine. but Meade
and Grant disapproved this and Burnside had
the storm division chosen by drawing straws'