48th Pennsylvania Regiment Volunteers Memorial, Petersburg, Virginia - American Civil War Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com

Beginning on June 23, 1864, a regiment of Pennsylvania miners dug a 500-foot tunnel under a sector of the Confederate line, while a Federal offensive had drawn the larger part of Lee's army north of the James, weakening the lines around Petersburg. Early on the morning Of July 30, 1864, a charge of 8,000 pounds of gunpowder was fired in the end of the mine shaft, while General A.E. Burnside's four divisions waited to rush through the breach and occupy the city.

The explosion blew 278 men of Confederate General Stephen Elliott's brigade into the air, and also two guns of a four-gun battery, momentarily demoralizing the Confederates and stunning the Federal divisions. The blast left a pit 135 feet long and 30 feet deep. Three charging Federal divisions, crowding the crater, spilled into the Confederate lines, while a terrific cannonade began on both sides. The Union troops, fearing to advance, were further crowded by U.S. Colored Troops, thrown in later.

On the Confederate side strenuous efforts were made to hold the enemy to the breach until reinforcements could reach the field. After three charges by the reinforced Confederates, all Federal troops who had not retreated were driven into the pit, and there was a virtual massacre as the Confederates gathered around the cavity picking off Union soldiers. The Confederates then jumped into the pit and struggled hand-to-hand until the remaining Federals surrendered. The Federal loss was about 4,400, of which 1,100 were prisoners; the Confederate loss was about 1,500.

The battle came to known as "The Battle of the Crater."

The 48th Pennsylvania Regiment Volunteers were from coal mining country and were familiar with mining techniques. Had the Union action after the explosion been successful this may have ended the ensuing siege of Petersburg and shortened the war.

The monument stands on a busy intersection in Petersburg some distance from "The Crater." Early photos show the monument in the countryside, but Petersburg and Dinwiddie County have grown up around this memorial.

Depicted at the top of the memorial is Col. George W. Gowen, a Union officer from Pennsylvania, who was killed on the last day of Battle of Petersburg, April 2, 1865.

The primary plaque on the monument reads:

The other plaque reads:

On the side is a a bas relief bronze plaque depicting the 48th carrying kegs of gunpowder into the mine shaft.

To record your own visit to this waymark, take and post your own original photo of the waymark, and upload it with your log. Logs must contain the required photo as proof of your visit, please

To log a visit, a waymarker must visit the monument or memorial in person and post a photo. Personal observations and comments will be appreciated.