- Date
- July 30, 1864
- Location
- Petersburg, Virginia
- Result
- Confederate victory
- Part of
- American Civil War
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
About the battle
The Battle of the Crater took place during the American Civil War, part of the Siege of Petersburg. It occurred on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George G. Meade under the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. After weeks of preparation, on July 30 Union forces exploded a mine across from Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps sector, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia. Instead of being a decisive advantage to the Union, this precipitated a rapid deterioration in the Union position. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where most of the soldiers milled in confusion in the bottom of the crater.
From the Wikipedia article “Battle of the Crater”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.
