Burnside
Ambrose Burnside, the Union general, was a major player on the Civil War stage from the first clash at Bull Run until the final summer of the war. He led a corps or army during most of this time and played important roles in various theaters of the war.

Crater
The Mine
Civil War in Virginia

American Civil War
July 30, 1864

  Colored Troops figured prominently in the ill-fated Battle of the Crater fought on July 30, 1964 as part of the Petersburg Campaign. In utter confusion, black and white Federal units poured into a crater which resulted from a planned mine explosion set off by Union soldiers under the small Confederate fort. Northern soldiers were cut down in the chaos with blacks experiencing the heaviest single-day casualties of the war  

Swallowed Up in Victory: A Civil War Narrative, Petersburg, 1864-1865
A narrative of the last year of the American Civil War, follows the action surrounding the first attacks on Petersburg through the surrender at Appomattox

After weeks of preparation, on July 30 the Federals exploded a mine in Burnside's IX Corps sector beneath Pegram's Salient, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg. 

From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion.

The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Major General William Mahone. The break was sealed off, and the Federals were repulsed with severe casualties.

Ferrarro's division of black soldiers was badly mauled. This may have been Grant's best chance to end the Siege of Petersburg. Instead, the soldiers settled in for another eight months of trench warfare.

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside was relieved of command for his role in the debacle.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Petersburg

Campaign: Richmond Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865) next battle in campaign    previous battle in campaign

Date(s): July 30, 1864

Principal Commanders: Major General Ambrose E. Burnside [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: IX Corps [US]; elements of the Army of Northern Virginia [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 5,300 total



The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865
The Siege of Petersburg was the prelude to the final chapter of our Nation's Civil War. The work is thoroughly researched with a plethora of primary sources incorporated right into the text

The Civil War in Virginia
Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many of their bloodiest battles. this program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia
colored picket guards civil war virginia
Colored picket guards near Petersburg, VA 1864

Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina's Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era
The processes by which black men enlisted and were trained, the history of each regiment, the lives of the soldiers' families during the war, and the experiences of the colored veterans and their families living in an ex-Confederate state

72 Piece Civil War Army Men
Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon
  • 48 Union and Confederate Soldiers up to 2-1/8 inches tall
  • 4 Horses, 4 Sandbag Bunkers, 6 Fence Sections, 3 Cannon, 3 Limber Wagons (Ammo Carts)
  • Bridge, Small Barracks,
Virginia State Battle Map 1864
State Battle Maps
History of Colored Troops
Appomattox Courthouse
Women Civil War Soldiers
Civil War Music
Civil War Campaigns
Ships and Naval Battles
Civil War Timeline
American Civil War Exhibits
Confederate Commanders
Documents of the Civil War
Civil War Store
Civil War soldier toys 102 pieces
Civil War Soldier 102 Piece Playset
 
  • 25 Union and 25 Confederate Soldier Figures, 18 Horses, 10 Cannon
  • 2 Covered Wagons, 2 Tents, 2 Canoes, 2 Flags, 16 Fences
  • Size: Figures Stand up to 2-1/8 inches tall
  • Scale: 1/32nd, Wagons and Horses slightly smaller
 
American Civil War Book Titles

Campfires of Freedom: The Camp Life of Black Soldiers During the Civil War
African-Americans - both freemen and ex-slaves - enlisted for a variety of reasons, from patriotism to sheer poverty. Like many of their white counterparts, they attributed theological significance to the war

A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army 1861-1865
Almost 200,000 African-American soldiers fought for the Union in the Civil War. Although most were illiterate ex-slaves, several thousand were well educated, free black men from the northern states
54th Massachusetts
Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry
July 18, 1863, the African American soldiers of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry led a courageous but ill-fated charge on Fort Wagner, a key bastion guarding Charleston harbor. Confederate defenders killed, wounded, or made prisoners of half the regiment. Only hours later, the body of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regiment's white commander, was thrown into a mass grave with those of twenty of his men.

The Negro's Civil War: How American Blacks Felt and Acted During the War for the Union
In this classic study, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson deftly narrates the experience of blacks--former slaves and soldiers, preachers, visionaries, doctors, intellectuals, and common people--during the Civil War

Lee's Last Retreat: The Flight to Appomattox
Lee's troops were more numerous and far less faithful to their cause than has been suggested. Lee himself made mistakes in this campaign, and defeat wrung from him an unusual display of faultfinding

One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia
The first detailed military history of Lee's retreat and the Union effort to catch and destroy the wounded Army of Northern Virginia Complimented with 18 original maps, dozens of photos, and a complete driving tour with GPS coordinates of the entire retreat

Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May-June 1864
This chronicles the great 1864 Overland Campaign, forty days that marked the end of the Civil War. In detail the battles in Virginia's Wilderness to the combat at Spotsylvania the trap laid by Lee at the North Anna River, to the killing ground of Cold Harbor
Honor in Command Colored Troops
Honor in Command: Lt. Freeman S. Bowley's Civil War Service in the 30th United States Colored Infantry
A young white officer who served as a lieutenant in a regiment of U.S. Colored Troops in the Union Army, is the work of a superb storyteller who describes how his Civil War experiences transformed him from a callow youth into an honorable man. Describing in detail his relationship with the men in his company, Bowley extols the role of black soldiers and their officers in the Union victory.

Young Reader Civil War Book Titles

The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863
James was only 15 when he joined, but he was able to get in. Nobody really liked him cause he was unlucky. One day in the confusion he charged ahead of his company and scared off all the Confederates single handed. After that, he became well liked by most people and soon rose Corporal. He showed his bravery when he spent a week in enemy territory. By the end of the war he rose up to Second Lieutenant.

Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War
Civil War reading can be very dry, but not this book. Delia Ray takes us on a soldiers journey beginning with enlistment and ending with a soldiers life after the war, using quotes from actual letters and diaries strategically placed throughout the book.

The Civil War for Kids
History explodes in this activity guide spanning the turmoil preceding secession, the first shots fired at Fort Sumter, the fierce battles on land and sea, and finally the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. Making butternut dye for a Rebel uniform, learning drills and signals with flags, decoding wigwag, baking hardtack, reenacting battles, and making a medicine kit bring this pivotal period in our nation's history to life.

Eye Witness Civil War
Eyewitness Civil War includes everything from the issues that divided the country, to the battles that shaped the conflict, to the birth of the reunited states. Rich, full-color photographs of rare documents, powerful weapons, and priceless artifacts plus stunning images of legendary commanders, unsung heroes, and memorable heroines

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor

American Experience: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry
After Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the governor of Massachusetts was authorized to raise the first northern black regiment,  the Massachusetts 54th colored infantry.

Civil War Journal
Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set

Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter

Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.

The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one

The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries

The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination

Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union


Civil War Submarines
Civil War Picture Album
President Abraham Lincoln
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Battle of Gettysburg


Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.
City of Alexandria Virginia

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