The Summer of Mahone: July 30, 1864, The Battle of the Crater

One of the most vicious fights of the Civil War took place on this date (July 30) in 1864.  Pennsylvania coal miners tunnelled under a Confederate fortification manned by a Virginia battery and blew it up.  Federal commanders from General Grant on down botched the attack that followed the assault.  The Confederates brought up Brig. Gen. William Mahone for a counterstroke against the stalled attackers.  A Union rout ensued and added to the laurels of Mahone, who had come to prominence in June 1864 at the battles of Jerusalem Plank Road (June 22-23) and First Reams Station (June 29).  (See John Horn, "Lee Besieged: Grant's Second Petersburg Offensive, June 18-July 1, 1864 (Savas Beatie, 2025).  To purchase a copy please click this link.

Map by Hampton Newsome for John Horn's "The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War: A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown's Hanging to Appomattox, 1859-1865" (Savas Beatie, 2019) (Winner of the 2019 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History).  To purchase a copy please click this link.

The summer of Mahone was not over, though, as you will see next month.