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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. It is one of three monuments to the regiment at Petersburg.
The regiment’s main monument at Petersburg is about 1.2 miles south of the exit from the park on Crater Road. It has another small monument at the entrance to the mine. There is also a monument to the 48th Pennsylvania at Antietam.
The monument is in front of The Crater
Text from the monument
Crater of Mine
Excavated by
The 48th Regt. Penn. Vet. Vol. Inf.
Burnside’s 9th Corps,
July 30, 1864.
The 48th Pennsylvania at Petersburg
The idea of a mine was proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, who was a mining engineer before the war. The building and detonation of the mine was a great success and the regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Pleasants were praised by General Meade.
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 followed, which was a disaster.
Location of the 48th Pennsylvania – Crater of Mine monument
The monument is at Stop Eight on the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour. It is on the east side of the Crater along the loop trail. (37° 13.112′ N, 77° 22.652′ W)