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The ground around the mine was a maze of fighting and support trenches, fortified batteries and covered ways. The opposing lines at Petersburg came closest to each other at Elliott’s Salient, manned by Pegram’s Virginia Artillery Battery and Elliott’s South Carolina Infantry Brigade. The salient was just a few hundred yards from Cemetery Hill, which dominated Petersburg and its river crossings. If Union artillery could be placed on Cemetery Hill Confederate forces could not survive in Petersburg. Blowing up the redoubt would remove some major obstacles. Pleasants and his Pennsylvania miners were able to drive a tunnel under the salient, but not without arousing Confederate suspicions. They dug a reinforcing trench line behind the redoubt, which was also covered by six Confederate batteries on high ground behind it.
Burnside’s brigades mass across from Elliott’s salient. Ledlie’s Division (Marshall’s and Bartlett’s Brigades) would lead, with Potter’s Division (Griffin and Bliss) on the right and Wilcox’s Division (Hartranft and Humphrey) on the left. Ferrero’s African-American division (Thomas and Sigfried) was in reserve.
On the morning of July 30 Burnside had massed 13,000 men in the eight brigades of his Ninth Corps across from the salient. But when the mine exploded at 4:40 a.m. the Union attack was probably already doomed. For days Burnside had rehearsed a fresh, new division to spearhead the assault. They practiced advancing around the theoretical crater in two columns and peeling off the lead regiments of each column to clear the flanking trenches while the main columns pressed forward. The men knew their missions and were excited to be leading the assault that would open the way to Richmond.
But the day before the attack Meade notified Burnside that he would have to pick another division. Meade wanted veterans leading the assault. Plus the division was made up of United States Colored Troops. It was the only African-American division in the Army of the Potomac, and Meade and Grant did not want to be accused of using them as cannon fodder if the attack went wrong. They were also concerned with how well the new black soldiers would fight, even though another African-American division from the Army of the James had fought very well a few days earlier at Petersburg (see the ‘A Splendid Charge’ wayside marker).
Over his fierce objections and with less than 24 hours until the attack, Burnside was forced to choose another division to lead the assault. He left the choice to fate, having the commanders draw straws. The choice went to Brigadier General James Ledlie, who had the habit of sitting out any serious fighting in the rear lines with a comforting bottle. The trained and prepared division would go in last, if needed.