"A Perfect Hell of Blood: the Battle of the Crater," w/ A. Wilson Greene -hosted by the Civil War Roundtable of New Hampshire

The Civil War Roundtable of New Hampshire is excited to host a visit from nationally renown historian, A. Wilson Green at the June 8, 2018 meeting! (note special date)

For many students of the Civil War, the Battle of the Crater is synonymous with the entire Petersburg Campaign.  The story of the secret construction of a mine, the explosion of 8,000 pounds of black powder, and the disastrous attack of the Union Ninth Corps is reasonably well known.  What is less well understood is the context of the Union strategy that precipitated this battle, the specific nature and conduct of the combat, and the reasons why such a promising gambit by the Federal army failed.

A. Wilson Greene, the author of a new study of the first six weeks of the action around Petersburg (A Campaign of Giants, University of North Carolina Press) will examine these topics and more during his presentation.  In the process he will address the role of the United States Colored Troops in the planning and execution of the assault, the poisonous relationship between army commander George Gordon Meade and his responsible corps commander, Ambrose Burnside, and the degree of brutality that characterized the fighting--which for many soldiers was unprecedented in their experience.

How was the mine constructed and why was it not discovered by the suspicious Confederates?  Were the black troops specially trained to make the attack and why weren't they allowed to do so?  What role did the Confederates play in limiting the initial opportunity presented by the explosion and why did they indulge in such horrific behavior during their counterattacks?  Could the attack have succeeded?

These and other issues will be a part of Greene's presentation.

Bio: A. Wilson Greene holds degrees in history from Florida State University and Louisiana State University.  He worked at various Civil War sites for the National Park Service for sixteen years and then became the first executive director of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, now the Civil War Trust.  In 1995 he became the founding director of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier near Petersburg, where he served for 22 years before retiring in March 2017.  Greene is the author of six books and more than twenty published articles.  His latest book is A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, which is the first of a projected three-volume study of the entire Petersburg Campaign.  He lives with his wife in Walden, Tennessee on the site of a Union encampment during the Chattanooga Campaign.

The CWRT of New Hampshire welcomes all with an interest in history to this extra special meeting!

Please visit our web site for more on our group.

We meet upstairs in the Epping Town Hall. An elevator is available for those who need.