. The photographic history of the Civil War : in ten volumes . few more shovelfuls of earth meant the saving of lives. The veterans in the lowerphotograph are bearded anti bronzed; the muscles beneath their shabby blue tunics were developed by heavy, constant manual operations in this campaign marked a development in field-fortifications, opened \irtually a new era in warfare. The siege wasnot a bombardment of impregnable fortifications. It was a constant series of assaults and picket-firing on lines of entrenchments inthe open. By July, 1864, the earthworks to the east had been almo
. The photographic history of the Civil War : in ten volumes . few more shovelfuls of earth meant the saving of lives. The veterans in the lowerphotograph are bearded anti bronzed; the muscles beneath their shabby blue tunics were developed by heavy, constant manual operations in this campaign marked a development in field-fortifications, opened \irtually a new era in warfare. The siege wasnot a bombardment of impregnable fortifications. It was a constant series of assaults and picket-firing on lines of entrenchments inthe open. By July, 1864, the earthworks to the east had been almost finished, although much of this exacting labor had been per-formed at night and under a galling fire. During August, the engineer corps extended the lines south and southeast of the beleagueredcity. But meanwhile the Confederates had been hard at work also. They had fewer men to hold their lines and to carry on the work, butit was accomplished with great devotion, and under able management and direction. The soldiers in the trenches lived in GROUP OF (OMPANY U, UNITED STATES ENGINEERS, IN FRONT OF PETERSBlRG. AUGUST, 1864 ®1|? iFrb^ral lEugtit^^rs there was not a sufficient length of fuse at hand to lay it in onepiece, several pieces spliced together had to be used. An in-si^ection of the work indicated that it was perfect. Orders Mere given to fire the mine at three oclock in themorning of July 30th. The fuse was lighted at , butthe charge failed to explode. The defect Avas repaired, the fuseagain ht, and at twenty minutes to five the mine exploded. The shock was terrific. For nearly an hour the de-fenders of the adjacent works appeared paralyzed. Througha misunderstanding, the Federal assault was a failure, andmany lives were sacrificed. From an engineering point ofview, the enterprise was a success. Tactically, it was afailure. From the moment the Federal troops appeared beforePetersburg until the evacuation of the town, the duties of theEngineer C
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidphotographichist05inmill
