James Blakely and Thompson Barrick: The 19th and 39th U.S.C.T. at the Petersburg Crater
Commanding the Fourth Division was General Edward Ferrero. After discussion with General Ambrose Burnside, it was concluded that his division would lead the charge. The plan was simple. A mine had been dug under the Confederate stronghold Elliots Salient near Petersburg, VA. It was filled with 4 tons of gunpowder and set to explode at 3:30 a.m. on July 30, 1864. Immediately following the explosion, Ferrero's division would charge, with the First Brigade (Col. Joshua K. Sigfried, commanding) sweeping left and right to clear the Confederate trenches and the Second Brigade (Col. Henry G. Thomas, commanding) to follow pushing straight through the crater to secure Cemetery Hill. (1)
The two brigades drilled with these intentions for nearly a month. Col. Thomas confirmed this, as did Col. Sigfried. The First Brigade "daily drilled from two to three hours with special view of making the assault...," as it was to make the most critical movements in the attack. (2) For the other brigades in the division, which were not involved in leading the assault, the "only duty assigned to the division for more than a month before the battle ... was work upon our trenches and fortifications." (3)
By July 29, Burnside was prepared to attack. Union infantry and cavalry actions to the north at Deep Bottom, on the James River, had drawn all but 3 Confederate divisions away from the area of the mine. General Meade, however, kept refusing Burnside's plan. He insisted that the Fourth Division, all untried troops who had not experienced battle, were not capable to lead the charge. He instead preferred that a more experienced group lead the charge. Grant upheld Meade's decision, and on the evening of July 29, Meade arrived at Burnside's headquarters to "drop this bomb" (4)
The division commanders drew lots, and it was determined that General James H. Ledlie, First Division, would lead the attack, followed by General Willcox's Third Division on the left and General Potter's Second Division on the right. While Ledlie's troops were experienced, their commander had a less-than-stellar record. Ledlie's subordinates frequently complained about his drinking habits and his poor performance on the battlefield. These divisions had also been stationed on the front lines since July 18, without any reprieve. They were tired and demoralized, and their ability to fight reduced. (5) Meade took none of these factors into consideration when he altered Burnside's plan.
Although the generals altered the plans for the attack, they failed to immediately notify the black units of the change. Colonel Thomas of the First Brigade was not notified until midnight, and Colonel H. Seymour Hall, 43rd U.S.C.T., First Brigade, did not learn of the change until the next morning. (6)
Between 4:30 and 4:40 a.m., the mine exploded, leaving a crater 150-200 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. Although Ledlie ordered the two brigades of his division forward, they were not informed to press immediately forward for Cemetery Hill. (With Meade's new plan, no units would flank left and right to clear the Confederate trenches). (7)
The explosion and the pit awed the troops. The officers watched, as "every man crowd[ed] up to
look into the hole." The advance of the First Brigade pushed them all forward, and before the
brigade commanders could act, the two brigades became inextricably mixed. (8)
Adding to the confusion, fire from the Confederate trenches forced the disorderly troops into the crater. There was not a single division, corps, or army commander present to give orders to clear the trenches. After the white troops had been fighting an hour-and-a-half without accomplishing a single objective, Ferrero's division was ordered into the chaos as Burnside ordered them to push forward to Cemetery Hill and "advance at all hazards" past the three white divisions trapped in the crater.< (9)
Somehow, Sigfried was able to lead his brigade, including the 39th, around the masses in the crater to the other side. The 39th then helped sweep the nearby enemy trenches, trying to clear a way for Thomas' brigade. Two regiments of the Second Brigade were caught in the crater. The 19th, however, after crossing no-man's land, stopped short of entering the pit. They were partially sheltered from the fire and refused to move forward, although they could not return over no-man's land. (10) Observing Sigfried's unit cross the crater, one officer believed that "had they led the attack, fifteen or twenty minutes from the time the debris of the explosion settled would have found them at Cemetery Hill, before the enemy could have brought a gun to bear on them." (11)
The New York Times dispatch of the battle read that the black troops fell out of the range of fire after several advances forward. (12) Though it noted the heavy loses, the only black troops out of range were the 19th and a few others who ran to Union lines. Two units were stuck in the crater. In later years, Thomas remembered the scene in the crater as being, "no distinction of color." (13) There were black units, or at least parts of black units, who were trapped in the crater.
The failure came when the black troops advanced without any support, and no commander was present to send in additional troops. The men were subjected to a "galling fire from the batteries on the flanks," and fell back into the crater, breaking all organization, with many black soldiers retreating to the Union Lines with many of the white troops as well. (14) While men died in the crater, Burnside and Meade argued over a flank attack, which Meade eventually halted. He ordered Burnside to pull the other troops out, but he refused, failing to admit that his plan had failed. (15)
With the desperate situation in the crater, the racism of white Union soldiers became blatant. Knowing that the Confederates would give no quarter to black troops if taken prisoner, white soldiers feared that they would suffer the same if caught with black soldiers. They thus began to bayonet their own comrades in arms. (16)
By 2 PM, Confederate forces, who had been told that the black troops holding the crater had fought with the battle cry, "No quarter for rebels!" began their final assault on the crater. Many black soldiers who tried to surrender were killed by the Confederates. Union officers, in fear of "rebel vengeance," ripped off their unit insignias. (17) Out of the 180 black prisoners taken, only seven survived the prison camps. (18)
The numbers are staggering. Union casualties totaled 3,475. Of the 4500 blacks that fought, 1327 were killed or wounded. More casualties came from the black division than from any of the white divisions, even though the white divisions had been fighting for an hour and a half prior to the entry of the colored troops. (19)
The 39th lost several officers and about 250 men killed, wounded or missing. No losses were published for the 19th in the newspaper reports after the battle, but the omission might be do to the lack of facts available at the time. (20) The wounded filled the Ninth Corps hospitals: "In the hospitals of the Ninth Corps, the First Division has 206; the Second Division, 307; The Third Division, 341; and the Fourth, the Colored Division, 626." (21) The black troops in the hospitals almost equaled the other three divisions combined.
The need to place blame for the debacle quickly became evident. One New York cavalryman wrote a friend that the Ninth Corps "would have done something if it hadn't have been for the nigger troops, but it was too warm for them and they took the back track, leaving the gap open and the Johnnies rushed in..." (22) A Military Court convened relieved Burnside and Ledlie of their commands. Generals Willcox and Ferrero were reprimanded for not attending to the charge or keeping accurate information for issuing orders. (23)
Northern editors blamed the selection of the troops for the defeat. The selection of the "ill-disciplined" Ninth Corps, which could "not only not be considered the elite corps of the army, but is really considered far from equal to the others that might be mentioned.... ," caused the defeat. (24) Specifically referring to the colored troops, an unnamed Special Correspondent wrote that their conduct "was as disgraceful as it proved disastrous to themselves." (25)
The 19th U.S.C.T., made up of mostly of slaves from southern Maryland, was organized December 15, 1863. (With the recruiting of the first two Maryland black units, the slave owners of Maryland were given 30 days, later increased to 60, to enroll their slaves. A compensation of $300 per man was promised.) (26) The unit fought in eleven engagements including Cold Harbor, Spotsylvania, Totopotomy, Old Church, Hatchets' Run, Bermuda Hundred, Weldon Railroad, Cemetery Hill, Petersburg, the Wilderness Campaign and the entry into Richmond. Its killed and died of wounds amounted to 3 officers and 47 enlisted men. A single officer and 242 enlisted men died of disease. The regiment later performed garrison duty in Tennessee until it was mustered out on January 12, 1866. (27)
James Oscar Blakely was mustered in as first lieutenant of the 19th U.S.C.T. on December 9, 1863. He was promoted to captain November 19, 1864. The regiment organized at Camp Stanton, Md., December 25, 1863, to January 16, 1864. Duty at Camp Stanton, Benedict, Md., until March, 1864, and at Camp Birney until April. Attached to Second Brigade, Fourth Division, Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac, April to September, 1864. Second Brigade, Third Division, Ninth Corps, to December, 1864. Third Brigade, Third Division, Twenty-fifth Corps, to January, 1865. Third Brigade, First Division, Twenty-fifth Corps, to January, 1866. Department of Texas, to January, 1867. Blakely was mustered out with the regiment on January 15, 1867.
The 39th U.S.C.T. organized at Baltimore from March 22 to 31, 1864. Most of the men came from Baltimore itself. It has been credited with 10 engagements, including Petersburg, Federal point, Bermuda Hundred, Hatcher's Run, Fort Fisher, Sugar Loaf, Cox Landing, N.C., Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Weldon Railroad. The casualties of the regiment read as follows: 30 enlisted men killed in battle (although Dyer lists 38), 3 officers died of wounds, disease, etc. and 239 enlisted men died of disease. (28) Sgt. Decatur Dorsey received the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving the company colors and rallying his unit to advance in the Battle of the Crater. (29) The regiment later garrisoned several forts in the southern states until it was mustered out December 4, 1865. Thompson Barrick did not remain with the regiment long. The wound he suffered at Gettysburg continued to bother him and he became ill. (30)
Organized at Baltimore, Md., March 22-31, 1864. Thompson Barrick left the 44th on March 26, 1864, to accept a commission as first lieutenant in this regiment. He was promoted to captain on August 25, 1864, and was discharged October 17, 1864, due to illness and the effects of his wound at Gettysburg. The regiment was attached to First Brigade, Fourth Division, Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac, to September, 1864. First Brigade, Third Division, Ninth Corps, to December, 1864. Second Brigade, First Division, Twenty-fifth Corps, to December, 1864. Second Brigade, Third Division, Twenty-fifth Corps, January, 1865. Second Brigade, Third Division, Terry's Provisional Corps, Department of North Carolina, to March, 1865. Second Brigade, Third Division, Tenth Corps. Department of North Carolina, to August, 1865. Department of North Carolina to December, 1865. Regiment lost during service 38 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 Officers and 239 Enlisted men by disease. Total 280.
1. Noah Andre Trudeau, Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War 1862-1865, (Boston: Little Brown, 1998), p. 231
2. Ibid., p. 232
3. Ibid., p. 232
4. Ibid., p. 234
5. Ibid., p. 235
6. Ibid., p. 235
7. Ibid., p. 238
8. William Powell, "The Battle of the Petersburg Crater" Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,
(New York: Century Company, 1888), p. 552
9. Ibid., p. 556
10. Trudeau, Like Men of War, p. 239-242
11. Powell, Petersburg Crater, p. 556
12. New York Times, August 2, 1864, p. 1, Col. 1
13. Thomas, p. 29
14. Powell, Petersburg Crater, p. 556-557
15. Trudeau, Like Men of War, p. 245
16. Ibid., p. 245
17. Ibid., p. 245-247
18. Ibid., p. 247. Most went to a detention camp in Danville, North Carolina.
19. Ibid.
20. New York Times, August, 2, 1864, p. 1, col. 1
21. Ibid., August, 3, 1864, p. 1, col. 3
22. Trudeau, Like Men of War, p. 249-250
23. Ibid., p. 250
24. New York Times, August 3, 1864, , p. 1 col. 2-3
25. Ibid., p. 1 col. 2-3
26. James H. Whyte, "Maryland's Negro Regiments--How, Where They Served", Civil War Times
Illustrated (July 1962), p. 41
27. State Commissioners, History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers,War of 1861-1864
(Baltimore: Guggenheimer, Weil , 1898-99), p. 207
28. Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Vol. 2 (Dayton: Morningside,
1979) p. 1730
29. R.J. Proff, United States of America's Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and Their
Official Citations (Columbia Heights, Minn.: Highland II, 1997), p. 759
30. Maryland Volunteers, p. 261.