Siege of Petersburg

“The Siege of Petersburg, Va. Charge of the second division, Ninth Army Corps, into the crater, July 30th, 1864. The charge made finally by the Second Division of the Ninth Army Corps is shown from the hand of one who witnessed it near by. It was made bravely, but from faults which could not be explained valuable time had been lost, officers were absent, and the result was a sad slaughter of men which the country could not afford to lose. On arriving at the exploded fort the Federals found it a heterogeneous mass of loose earth, guns and gun carriages, dead and wounded gunners, etc. One of the charging officers, noticing the earth move near him as if a mole or gopher were at work under it, commenced digging, and finally extricated a Confederate lieutenant, who actually revived and conversed freely with the officer before being brought from the ground. Several others were exhumed from their living graves and restored to consciousness."— Frank Leslie, 1896

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