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The Crater is the final stop on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour, about 3.4 miles from the Visitor Center. (37°13’06.6″N 77°22’39.9″W; map)
The Crater today. It was partially filled in and incorporated into the Confederate defenses right after the battle, then worn down by 150 years of weather and tourists, but its size can still be seen.
The Crater battlefield was in private hands until 1936, when it was acquired by the National Park Service to add to Petersburg Battlefield Park, which had been created ten years earlier.
This was the site of one of the most dramatic and brutal scenes of the Civil War. Union troops – a regiment of Pennsylvania coal miners – tunneled under Confederate defenses. On July 30, 1864 they set off an enormous explosion, blowing up a large section of the Confederate defensive line and creating the crater that is still visible today.
Union troops poured into the gap but failed to exploit the breakthrough. Confederate counterattacks pushed them back into The Crater, where the disorganized and badly led Federals were massacred.
Two trails leave the parking lot. One leads directly to and circles around the Crater, which is fenced off. There are still an unknown number of bodies buried there, and it is considered a grave site. Several monuments and markers line the trail and tell the story of the fight.
The second trail leads to the rebuilt entrance to the mine tunnel dug by the 48th Pennsylvania, then follows then path of the tunnel to the Crater. Along the way this path passes the site of the ingenious ventilation shaft, several depressions where the tunnel has collapsed and the site of the Confederate countermine.
The two trails connect at the Crater, making a loop of about a half mile.
Monuments around The Crater
Monuments and markers at the Crater:
A Stupendous Failure wayside marker
2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery monument
48th Pennsylvania – Crater of Mine
100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Crater
Confederate Counterattack wayside marker
William Mahoney monument
Mahoney’s Brigade monument
South Carolina monument
The Crater wayside marker
Monuments and markers along the mine trail:
48th Pennsylvania – Entrance to Mines monument
Confederate Countermine marker
Digging the Mine wayside marker
Ventilation Shaft wayside marker
Follow the mine trail from the entrance to The Crater
This is the last stop on the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour
Siege Drive leaves the Eastern Front of the Petersburg National Battlefield Park in a short distance and ends at Crater Road. The State of Massachusetts monument is on the left just before exiting the park.
Turn right on Crater Road to reach Blandford Cemetery, a short distance to the north, or downtown Petersburg.
Turn left on Crater Road to continue touring the Petersburg battlefields on the southeast or Western Front. The entrances to Interstate 95 are also immediately to the left.
Map and Directions to Stop Eight on the Auto Tour
The Crater is on the right side of Siege Drive (which is one way westbound) about 3.4 miles from the Visitor Center. (37°13’06.6″N 77°22’39.9″W)