There are four main books on The Crater, the culmination of
Grant’s third offensive at Petersburg. They all cover, in varying degrees of detail, Hancock’s thrust north of
James River to threaten Richmond and draw Confederates away from the Cockade
City, maximizing the chances for success when the mine was exploded.
The first is “The Horrid Pit,” by Michael Kavanaugh and
William Marvel. This book was written
before the internet brought so many original and published regimental sources
so accessible but it is still an excellent introduction to the subject.
I thought Richard Slotkin’s “No Quarter” was particularly
disappointing for its many errors, given that it came from a major publishing
house. It brings little to the party.
John Schmutz’ “The Battle of the Crater” brings to light
some new unpublished material, but it still needs significant editing.
If I were limited to reading one book about The Crater, it
would be Earl Hess’ “Into the Crater,” which has particularly good maps and
brings new unpublished material to light.
There is still plenty of unpublished material on The Crater
that has not been integrated into a major book on the subject. A systematic search of newspapers probably would
bring more to light. A definitive book
on this terrible struggle has therefore not yet been written.
My take on The Crater is that the layout of the June 18
Confederate line affected the battle significantly. Meade was right that Pegram’s Salient was a
poor location for the mine because the salient stood between two higher
points. Grant appears to have failed to
convey to Burnside the experience gained from mines exploded at Vicksburg. Meade’s interference with Burnside’s plan and
Grant’s support of Meade after letting Burnside go so far violated fundamental
principles of management.
Next—beyond the Crater.
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