. Battles and leaders of the Civil War : being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers . , and still they stood with every nervestrained prepared to move forward the instant an order should be oclock arrived, officers and men began to get nervous, having been ontheir feet four hours; still the mine had not been exploded. General Ledliethen directed me to go to General Burnside and report to him that the com-mand had been in readiness to move since 3:30 A. m., and to inquire thecause of the delay of the explosion. I found General Burnside in rear of thefourt
. Battles and leaders of the Civil War : being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers . , and still they stood with every nervestrained prepared to move forward the instant an order should be oclock arrived, officers and men began to get nervous, having been ontheir feet four hours; still the mine had not been exploded. General Ledliethen directed me to go to General Burnside and report to him that the com-mand had been in readiness to move since 3:30 A. m., and to inquire thecause of the delay of the explosion. I found General Burnside in rear of thefourteen-gun battery, delivered my message, and received the reply from thegeneral information that there was some trouble with the fuse dying out, but lishecl for the movement he and Lieutenant George but that the volunteer staff would remain withM. Eandall, also of the regular army, and aide-de- General Ledlie, all of whom did so during the en-camp to General Ledlie, were informed that they tire engagement, in or near a bomb-proof withinmust accompany the advance troops in the attack, the Union lines.—W. H. CARRYING POWDER TO THE MINE. FROM A SKETCH MADE AT THE TIME. THE BATTLE OF THE PETERSBURG CRATER. 551 that an officer had gone into the gallery to ignite it again, and that theexplosion would soon take place. % I returned immediately, and just as I arrived in rear of the First Divi-sion the mine was sprung. It was a magnificent spectacle, and as the mass ofearth went up into the air, carrying with it men, guns, carriages, and timbers,and spread out like an immense cloud as it reached its altitude, so close werethe Union lines that the mass appeared as if it would descend immediatelyupon the troops waiting to make the charge. This caused them to break andscatter to the rear, and about ten minutes were consumed in re-forming forthe attack. | Not much was lost by this delay, however, as it took nearlythat time for the cloud of dust to pass off. The order was then given for t
Size: 1660px × 1505px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1887
