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The ’48th Pennsylvania – Crater of Mine’ monument is just east of The Crater at Stop Eight on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour. The 48th Pennsylvania has another small monument at the entrance to the mine. Its main monument is about 1.2 miles south of the exit from the park on Crater Road.
The monument is in front of The Crater, which is behind the fence
Text from the monument
Crater of Mine
Excavated by
The 48th Regt. Penn. Vet. Vol. Inf.
Burnside’s 9th Corps,
July 30, 1864.
The mine was proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants,a mining engineer before the war. According to Pleasants’ official report,
“The size of the crater formed by the explosion was at least two hundred (200) feet long, fifty (50) feet wide, and twenty-five (25) feet deep. I stood on top of our breastworks and witnessed the effect of the explosion on the enemy. It so completely paralyzed him, that the breadth of the breach, instead of being only two hundred feet, was practically four or five hundred yards. The rebels in the forts, both on the right and left of the explosion ran away, and for over an hour, as well as I could judge, not a shot was fired by their artillery. There was no fire from infantry from the front for at least half an hour; none from the left for twenty minutes, and but few shots from the right.”
The regiment did not participate in the battle, which was a disaster. But the building and detonation of the mine itself was a great success, and the regiment and Lt. Colonel Pleasants were praised by General Meade.
Location of the 48th Pennsylvania – Crater of Mine monument
The monument is at Stop Eight on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour. It is on the east side of the Crater along the loop trail.