The line in defense of our nation is the 1 i want to be apart of. Thats the 1 im proud to be apart of so the next time you see that brand new private or lieutenant, no that they were among that our society had to offer. They had more ability and potential than most of their peers and they still chose to put that uniform on and to help the sacrifices that come with it. They are tomorrows generals and command sergeant majors. They are the future of our nation. I thank you again for the honor of being here to stand in this hollow ground with all of you and to remember this chapter in our history and the people who lived in it and people who died in it. Have a great day. God bless america. [ applause ] our benediction this morning will be given by reverend rick gre greenwood. I fail to mention with pastor lions are gillfield. Both churches represented here this morning were war time congregations here in petersberg. Again, this morning our benediction reverend greenwood. May god the earth maker, god the universe creator, god the star thrower, god the tree grower, may go the builder of nations, god the lord of lords, god the king of kings, god the lover of man kind, may god who is our history. God who is our present, god who awaits us in the future. God be with us now. May got the pain bayer. God the one who suffers. God the bloodied sacrifice. God the redeemer. God the inkarnate. The god who lived as one of us. God who is with us. God who looks like us, god who frees us, god bless you now, may god the life giver, god the devine breath, doed the hogod t maker, the community creator, may the peace revealer, god the comforter of all. May god who moves among us all, god who lifts us into eternal life, god lead us forward today. May god the earth maker, the pain barer, the life giver, bless you and keep you now and always. Amen. Just from me personally i want to thank you all for being here today with us today on 150th anniversary of the battle of crater. Once again superintendent rogers. Just want to be very short and thank you all for coming. I learn when its time for things to be over its time for them to be over. I want to thank fort lee for coming us. People dont realize that people e petersberg used to be a part of fort lee. We were actually cut out of fort lee to be created as a battlefield created by one union and one confederate soldier. Id like to thank the Postal Service for coming here. Thank you for the city of st. Petersburg for being with us. Go and find yourself in history. Thursday night a look at the civil wars atlanta campaign. In may of 1864, William Sherman marched into georgia with the goal of capturing atlanta. After a series of battles throughout the summer and the see siege of the city, atlanta fell in 1864. We will join with shermans march and a look at confederate weapons manufacturing in Central Georgia after the fall of atlanta. Thats all coming up thursday night here on cspan 3. 200 years ago on august 24th, 1814, british soldiers routed american troops at the battle of bladeensberg just outside of washington d. C. It left the capitol wide open to British Forces who marched into the city and burned down the nations capitol. You can here more about this thursday on an event hosted by the smithsonian associated. Our live coverage starts at 6 45 eastern and more august 23rd as we takeb h h hlnc you live to tr a Panel Discussion on the events of 200 years ago live on American History tv on csp an 3 next a look of the role in the u. S. Colored troops in the battle of the crater during the siege of petersberg. After weeks of tunnelling on july 30, 1864, forces blew up a mine to create a gap in the defenses. Emmanuel discusses why the attack ultimately failed and why the u. S. Colored troops were unjustly blamed. This event was part of the gettysburgs institutes annual civil conference. Its just under an hour. Good morning. I will prewarn you today, you will here language that we find repulsive. I will not cut it out because it makes us quiver. Well get started. On july twelfth, 1864 after failing to defeat robert e. Lees army of northern virginia, Lieutenant General grant accompanied Major General meads river of the patomic and pulled away from the fortifications of the harbor and begun to move toward petersberg. Some of the troops north of petersberg moved to begin the attack on the city the following day on july 15th. Petersberg in 1860 had been virginias second largest city with a population of 18266 folks. Four railroads radiated from the city by 1860. The petersberg railroad ran south to North Carolina. The richmond in petersberg obviously connecting those two places. The south side which ran from city point through petersberg to lynchberg. The fcity possessed three iron mills, three plaining mills and factories. These operations were cranking out supplies and food for the confederacy throughout the war. The confederacy operated several war time plants within or near the city still functioning in the city of 1864 including naval rope works, wagon works. The war time blockade getting back to the interest in the blockade had created even greater importance for the petersberg railroad because it a separate railroad company, weldon operated keskticonnectin petersberg and the blockade at wilmington. There is petersberg. Grant wanted to cut off rich monday, rich mondays communication of goods from june 15th to the 18th before lee arrived at petersberg union troops assaulted the city but failed to capture it. Siege operations began but at one part of the line, the 9th corp were less than 400 feed from the confederate earth works in the midst of the summer of 1864 drought was the constant sharp shooting and destruction of earth works and a plan had developed to break the campaign before it lasted much longer. As early as june 21, lieutenant henry pleasant thought mining the confederate position was a possibility. He noted enthusiasm for the project was his commander potter and burnside. The 48th pennsylvania began excavating the mine but most people remember it started at 12 00 noon. The work was performed night and day, seven days a week, even in the intense summer heat which often exceeded 105 degrees. The concerns about ventilating the mine war dressed. Fresh air entered an 8 inch square duct circulated fire was created that would send the bad air out through a chimney shaft. As the laborers extended the mine so too did the wooden duct system be extended. By the 17th of july, the mine will reach the 510. 8 feet that pleasant had first proposed. Two galleries will be extended which is represented in this image at the top underneath the confederate position in which the gunpowder is supposed to be pegged. While the 48th pennsylvania infantry dug the mine, burnside crafted a battle plan. Three weeks ahead of the assault he informed Edward Ferrero, the commander of the u. S. Division of colored troops of his plan to use those troops first. He expected 12,000 pounds of gunpowder to explode by day break or 5 00 a. M. The black soldiers would be massed in double columns ready to pass through the gap in the enemys line. The regiment was to be perp eep perpendicular of the confederate line. The remaining regiments were to move as quickly as possible to the crest in front as rapidly as possible as burnside wrote. White troops of burpsides corp and others would soon follow. He was directed to drill his enthusiastic troops but not veterans for this attack. However, this is issue that we still dont know all the details of, were the u. S. Colored troops trained or not trained . It depends on who you ask. Captain robert beachom of the 23rd usct recalled only one drill and Nothing Specific to this particular battle maneuver but they were as he said most common and simple maneuvered. Others were called specialized Training Like the colonel commanding the color troops who remembered time after time did my regiment go to the imaginary advance and turn to the left. Every officer and every private knew his place in what he was expected to do. In short i will say we dote know if they were trained or not. What we do know is that the confederates figure out whats going on with the union mining activity just five days after the federals have started. This man is on the confederate side be praised for lucky guessing. Of course many of you in this audience your attention to gettysburg know Edward Porter alexander. Hes expecting the lines on june 30th, hes expecting to see the siege operations of 19th century warfare to be taking place. Trying to extend union lines trying to get closer to the confederates but hes not in thing that. He notices theres intense sharp shooting coming into this position and he thinks seriously that the enemy isnt going to come as he said above ground but they were coming underground. They were mining us he later wrote. I always say on my tours its important to know that this isnt farmer joes son who probably wouldnt have guessed this. Alexander is a graduate of west point. Third in his class of 38 so he knew this sort of world of siege operations which could include mines. Alexander reported his suspicions to headquarters, southern quantitier mining began in self places but they will not in elliott salient area go deep enough below ground to collapse the kconfederate mine. Just of the intense amount of sharpillery fire, the confederates had honeycombed the area in between this new cavalier trench in the back of elliotts salient with bombproofs. What they didnt know zis that this will soon enough create an obstacle for the confederates. Its going to be in a horseshoe shaped ring around this region and the confederates are going to have 30 canyons and 5 mortars to use against any infant rry attack in that particular area. The plan begun unraveling as soon as headquarters got the plan. Meads engineer decided thats all the gunpowder they needed. A single fuse arrived in segments. The plans for the attack which burnside had proposed were changed by general mead on the morning of july 28th mead and burnside had a showdown about the battle plan. Mead stated at a military court of inquiry that black soldiers were too green for this attack. Later that year grant testified to congress, Congressional Committee investigating the crater, general mead said if we put the colored troops in front we had that only one division and it should prove a failure if it would then be said and very properly that we were shoving these people ahead to get killed because we did not care anything about them. That could not be said if we put white troops in front. Since burn side protested this last minute change, mead stated he would talk with grant about it and its important to understand that technically burnside outranked mead. Its been a contentious sort of thing since burnside arrived in spring. Grant out ranks both of them. He can aside which he will only here from mead. Grant agrees with mead. However, neither general bothered to inform burnside of this until july 29th. At 11 00 a. M. When mead and another Union General appear at burnsides headquarters. Burnside still wants the plan that he had to go forth and he will ask mead cannot this be changed and mead says no, the order is final. Beside the use of the u. S. Colored troops, mead objected to the maneuvers burnside wanted to perform. Mead wants them to go up promptly and take the crest. The problem is it doesnt take into account the other confederate troops that are to the north of the explosion site and i should point out the objective is to take the high ground at the cemetery which is a few hundred yards to the north of elliott salient. So mead and this other Union General leave burnside to figure out what hes going to do. Calls forth these eligible Division Commanders including willwox, james ledly on the left and Robert Potter on the right. Despite burnsides realization he probably should have selected willkox and potter, if he felt like their divisions had been really used up so he selected james ledly. Ledly has some of you know has a fondness for alcohol. This had been exhibited at the battle of north ana river late in may of 1864 and on the initial attacks in petersberg on the 17th. On july 29th, final preparations were made including canon and 54 mortars across a ten mile front to be used right after the explosion takes place to pin down confederates as the attack moves forward. White troops move into their position. Ferreros troops are going to be in the back of this attacking column. Colonel pleasant will go in on july 30th, light the fuse at 3 30 in the morning. Didnt go off. Swfns0รท 4 15 two people go back inside to figure out what has gone wrong. Mostly on my tours i have people who would say that would be me. Occasionally i get it and i say you brave person. They light the fuse andc at 4 40, it explodes on saturday morning the 30th, one of the enemys forts when the enemy was dreaming in pleasant slumber, was blown up destroying all who were in it at the time. The hole was now 30 feet deep, 1 fe 70 feet long and 60 feet wide. Few confederates would live to tell the tail between 350 men from South Carolina caregiments will become casualties of the blast of the the battle that follows reveals more about personalities and racial divisions than about military tactics and objectives. Artillery shells belch from the federals 110 canyons and 54 mortars as the battle began. Ledlys division supported by Robert Potter and willkoxs men. Of course the confederates are going to respond. Its going to be a somewhat weak response at this particular moment from the infantry those intense confederate artillery fire began to develop pretty rapidly, particularly from the federals that its coming from the right so part of the army that james is going to be deployed to try to cover and push out some people of North Carolina that were to the north of the crater and silence whatever this gun battery is sending shells ripping through the ranks. Thats whats represented here. Im not going to spend a lot of time talking about the white troops. You should have come to kevins talk yesterday about them. Were going to focus on the black troops. About 8 00 a. M. , ferreros division is ordered to attack the first brigade will be joshua significantfreid and the 30th u. S. Color troops. As they crash into the confederates they began to scream out no quarter and remember fort pillow. Some of you know for those who dont, fort pillow earlier in the year in april, confeddaerat troops refused to surend enrend when the battle finally comes to its crazed in we have 150 white pows and 58 black men. Everybody else in this garrison of 600 has been killed or mortally wounded. So it doesnt really matter that these black troops werent there that these white troops werent there. This becomes a battle cry for the rest of the war with black troops. One confederate officer screamed rally boys, drive them back. They are nothing but. Immediately somehow in the sounds of battle this is overheard by Sergeant John offer and a dozen other black combatants who charge the officer and one soldier thrust the bayonet into the officers chest. Following the 30th is the 43rd usct. Within that regiment captain albert d. Wright captures the flag you see here on the left. He was wounded himself. The mingling already of white and black troops in and out the crater and southern artillery will start to slow progress for the 27th and 39th brigade. As they moved through the remains of elliott salient, colonel baits was shot in the face and exited through his left ear. Amazingly baits survived and rushed to duty in 1864. He has a pretty impressive mustache already t. Gets bigger to cover up part of his face that has been partially collapsed because of the bullet. He will receive a met medal of honor. Following on the heels of sigfreids men. Thomas recalled a it decimated us. The 31st usct was mow down like grass. Thomas ordered the troops back into the area behind the crater which means having to try to move through the masses of white troops already there which is also honeycombed with bombproofs, you remember that. His attempt to rally and charge again will be met with doom. You can see thomas on the left and the colonel who gets himself all dandied up to go into this attack. He has his best coat on, best sword, best hat. He will satand on top of federa earth works to try to encourage them to go forward and he will get shot down. There was no flinching on their part. They came to the soldier touched just like true soldiers as ready to face the enemy and meet death but think for a moment for forming for an affective charge, confuse and broken up. Officers are going down. Artillery fire power is continuing and infantry units on the confederate side are beginning to move up. Commanded by the only division of troops that lee actually commands on this side, led temporarily by Brigadier General mahone. The virgginian as they get onto the battlefield will encounter confederate as they are running back wards. Another told the men, oh, boys you have hot work ahead. They are and show no quarter. This report before the men passing us was the first intimation that we would have to fight negros and it seemed to infuse our little band with inpet uousness. Revenge must have fired every heart and strung every arm with nerves of steel. Mahone gives a rallying speech that isnt filled with any racially charged language just before the virginians attack at 9 00 a. M. Confederate officer in the 6th virginia commander wrote with fixed bayonets they strung forward from the ravine and the pack eed trenches. Virginias pay a heavy price to capture a few hundred feet of earth works. The jurorediaordan will follow. They made two attacks and fell like autumn leaves. The georgians leave us some of our best accounts of their anger at the site of armed black men. The prisoners came leaping over our best words for 50. The muzzle of our guns was put on their temple and their brains blown out. Others were knocked in the head with the butts of their guns. Few would succeed to getting to the rear of the safe. Also of the 48th georgia and someone who ought to know about beating black bodies since he was an overseer before the war begun told his dear sister mary just 11 days afterwards when we got to the works it was filled with negros and whites crying out no quarter and you may depend on it we did not show much quarter but charade thslay. They want to know what their men are doing on the battlefield. Now that they are fighting black member they a men that they are put them dow