Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 37.djvu/211

 ANOTHER STORY OF THE CRATER BATTLE. , 1905.

Editor of The Times-Dispatch: 

,—The enclosed account of the charge of Mahone's Brigade at the battle of "The Crater," Saturday, July 30th, 1864, written by Major William H. Etheredge, who commanded the Forty-first Regiment of Virginia, of that brigade, will prove interesting just now to many survivors.

This was a personal letter to me in March, 1892, and I have not had until recently, his permission to publish it.

Very truly yours,

, March 23rd, 1892.

Captain George J. Rogers: 

Your favor of the 16th instant came to hand on Saturday, 19th, and I can say it gave me genuine pleasure.

At your request, I will undertake to give a description of the battle of the Crater on the suburbs of the city of Petersburg, July 30th, 1864.

"Colonel" Parham, as you know, was wounded at the first battle of Malvern Hill in 1862, which rendered him unfit for duty, and Lieutenant "Colonel" Minetree was wounded on the sixth day of May, 1864, in the battle of the Wilderness, and was unfit for service, so you see the command of the old Forty-first Regiment fell upon my shoulders, and while I felt unequal to the task, I determined to do my duty to the best of my ability. We were satisfied that the enemy was undermining somewhere on the line, but could not tell where until the mine was sprung on the morning of July 30th, 1864, the whole country for miles around was startled when the explosion took place, and every piece of artillery that could be brought to bear on that particular