Do you know where the greatest manmade explosion before World War I occurred?  It happened at Petersburg, Virginia, during the longest siege in American warfare.  Had the Battle of the Crater turned out differently, the siege might have ended after little more than a month instead of ten long months later.  It might even have helped bring  an earlier end to the War Between the States, although the war was certainly fought on more than just this front.

General Ulysses S. Grant marshaled his army against Petersburg on June 15, 1864 after a failed frontal assault on Richmond, the Confederate capital.  In the early days of the siege, a plan evolved to tunnel under the Confederate lines.  Coal miners and other men from the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry began digging a 511-foot tunnel (when you add the two galleries used for powder magazines the total length was 586 feet).  At 4:45 A.M. on July 30, 1864 they exploded four tons of powder beneath the Confederates.  The southern troops had heard rumors that the Yankees were trying to dig beneath their lines, but they didn't know where or when. The Confederates even sunk countermines to try to find the tunnel.  Petersburg had buzzed with tales of the tunnel for weeks.

The gigantic explosion on July 30th created a 170 x 60-foot crater that was 30 feet deep.  The African American division, selected to lead the charge after the explosion, was replaced at the last minute with an untrained force out of fear that the Union command would be accused of needlessly sacrificing African American troops.  The use of a poorly prepared division brought an unnecessary loss of life.  The eruption sent men and equipment hurtling into the sky panicking the Union troops, who had entered the crater out of curiosity and without proper leadership from their regimental commanders.  The Union casualties came to 4,400 while the Confederates, against whom the attack was launched, suffered only 1,500 casualties.

You can see the crater and the tunnel entrance on a Petersburg National Battlefield auto tour.  Park at Stop 8 and take the short trail to the crater.  Exhibits and audio stations provide more details.  To obtain a more complete picture of the longest siege any American city has been forced to withstand, be sure to see the map presentation at the visitor center.  The War Room has a nine-foot, three-dimensional map that traces the action on what was the largest battlefield of the Civil War.  After this introduction, walk the short loop trail from the visitor center to the Dictator, a formidable cannon.  Although this is not the mortar positioned at Petersburg, it is an original 17,000-pound Seacoast Mortar.  The Dictator lobbed 200-pound shells into Petersburg just 2 1/2 miles away.

From mid-June to mid-August, the park presents a living history program. There are artillery demonstrations daily at 11:00 A.M., 2:30 and 4:30 P.M. (except Monday and Tuesday). It's exciting to watch soldiers representing Louisiana's Washington Artillery, with their battleflag flying, gallop up the hill past the earthenwork remains of Fort Stedman.  Their six-horse team pulls the cannon and timber.  Horses were so vital to the war effort they were always carefully unhitched before the cannon was placed in position.  The men fire the 12-pound Napoleon field gun according to standard Civil War drill.

The gun crew carefully explains each step of the firing, does a practice drill and then suggests visitors cover their ears---the Napoleon makes a mighty noise.  You'll learn that the 12-pound balls could travel for one mile.  Then you can examine the “table of fire” on the ammunition chest that gun crews used to determine projectory and the amount of powder needed to hit the target.  At NOON and 3:30 P.M. the smaller 24-Pounder Coehorn Mortar, which had a 3/4 mile range, is fired.  Between firings the crew and their horses can be found resting beneath the trees near Fort Stedman.