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The South Carolina monument is just west of The Crater at Stop Eight on the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour.
About the monument
The South Carolina monument honors the Confederate defenders from the 18th South Carolina Infantry Regiment and the 22nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment who were holding the line when the mine was set off. They were part of Brigadier General Stephen Elliott’s South Carolina Brigade of Brigadier General Bushrod Johnson’s Division. The explosion instantly killed 278 men from the two regiments, 108 men from the 18th and 170 from the 22nd. The 22nd’s Colonel David G. Fleming was one of the killed; his body was never found.
Text from the monument:
South Carolina
On this hill for one month
South Carolina troops guarded the entrance
to Petersburg and here July 30, 1864,
suffered death from a mine exploded by the Federals. Here the surviving Carolinians
under the command of
Stephen Elliott
by their valor
turned a dreadful disaster into a glorious victory.
—
Erected by
the South Carolina Division,
United Daughters of the Confederacy
1923
Closeup of the tablet
Location of the monument
The South Carolina monument is on the Crater loop trail just north of the Crater. (37° 13.118′ N, 77° 22.671′ W)