By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
ATE last month there gathered
near Petersburg, Va, a great
crowd of people to take part in tha
dedication of a new national mil-
itary park. Among the publi¢c ree.
reation areas set aside in this
country by the federal govern-
ment a national military park en-
joys the distinction of having a
double purpose. It is a memorial
to the historic event which oc-
curred there, a patriotic shrine
to which Americans can come for
renewed inspiration by standing upon the soil
made sacred by the sacrifices of previous gen-
erations of Americans there; and it is a mil.
tary classroom and an outdoor war laboratory
where future defenders of the nation may study
the lessons in 1 ary science which will help
them in that defense.
The Petersburg natisnal military park Is the
fifth and latest of such areas to be established
but few of the others are more interesting from
either point of view. It derives its historic
interest from the fact that here occurred the
dying struggle of the Confederacy, for when
the Union army broke through the Confederate
lines at Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865, this vie
tory ended 9 months and 12 days of siege, “the
longest siege on American soll,” and it spelled
death to the Confederate cause. Richmond, the
heart of the Confederacy, was cut off from the
rest of dhe South when Petersburg, the head
of navigable tidewater and the focus of the
various railroads and highways which brought
supplies and reinforcements to the capital, fell
After that Lee's surrender to Grant at Appamat-
tox was inevitable, even though it was delayed
seven days.
As a field for the military student the Peters
burg area is Important because it has in a fine
state of preservation more than 25 miles of
fortification with thousands of feet of tunnels
still intact. But the most portant fact is the
similarity between this campaign of more than
half a century ago and the principal eampaig:
in the more recent World war. For United
States army officers are the authority for the
statement that “the military operations con-
nected with the siege of Petersburg contained
every feature of strategy and tactics that be-
gan in the race from the Mame to the English
Channel between the Allied armies and the
forces of the Central Powers, each seeking to
outflank the other and ending when the Allies
burst through the German lines In the Argonne
forest just as the Federals crumpled the Con-
federate lines at Petersburg.”
But to the average American, unfamiliar with
the intricacies of military science, the principal
appeal of the new national military park, now
comprising some 201 acres with the possibility
of later having a total area of 516 acres, lies
in the numerous “human interest” angles to
the story of this siege and the battles which
preceded and followed It, in the tales of heroism
on the part of both the men who wore the Blue
and those who wore the Gray which are con-
jured up by a visit to this historic place,
Early In 1864 Grant, balked in every attempt
to defeat Lee north of the Confederate capital
and thus make good the warcry of “On to
Richmond !” which had been raised in tke earli-
est days of the war, decided to swing around,
cross the James river and strike Richmond
from the south. Put Petersburg, “the back door
of the Confederacy” stood in the way,
The first battle in the fighting arcund Peters.
burg, although it was little more than a skir-
mish, furnishes one of the cherished traditions
of the lost cause and supplied an incident in
which all Amoricans can take pride, At that
time Petersburg was garrisoned by Wise's
veteran brigade but with it stood the Peters
burg Home Guard, composed of every old man
and young boy who was able to lift a musket
and squeeze a trigger, and it was to this little
group less than 200 strong that the glory of
June 9, 1864 goes.
On that date one of Grant's subordinaies,
Gen. B. F. Butler, sent General Gillmore with
8000 Infantry and General Kautz with 1.500
cavalry to “capture Petersburg and destroy
the Appamattox Bridge” The cavalry led the
advance and immediately struck a stiff resist
ance from the Home Guards, For some time
the 200 held the 1.500. at bay, then with half
their force dead or disabled the Home Guards
were forced back upon the advancing Confed-
erate regulars, Bat they had held up Kautz's
advance long enough to save Petersburg.
Again a week later the city might have been
taken but for blundering upon the part of the
Union generals which resulted In. a fearful
loss of their men and led to the prolonged siege
of nine months instead of precipitating a run-
ning fight between Lee, retiring to the west,
and Grant in hot pursnit. During the nine
months when Petersburg was Invested skier.
mishes occurred almost daily, totaling some 150
minor engagements, The most famous of these
was the spectacular explosion of the Crater,
one of the most dramatic Incidents of the whole
war. The following account of It Is taken from
fn history of the operations around Petersburg
prepared by Capt. Jeffry Montague of the Unit.
ed States army:
“There was a regiment of Pennsylvanians in
Burnside's corps, the Fortyelghth Infantry,
mostly coal miners, and their commander, a
De mbar * ; » Ni
A
p.%
mining engineer, Lieut.-Col. Henry Plea
the latter part of June thought it
something If it could make a breach in
Confederate line about 130 yards In front of
him, by mining Elliott's salient and blowing it
up. The idea went forward through channels,
received Meade's and Grant's approval, and
Burnside got orders to put it into effect and
exploit the opening. Grant thought enough
troops could be poured through the crevasse to
capture Petersburg.
“Ferrero's negro division was being trained
by Burnside to lead the assault through the
breach to be caused by the mine, but Meade
and Grant disapproved this and Burnside had
the storm division chosen by ‘drawing straws’
The lot fell to Gen. James H. Ledlie, command.
ing the First division of Burnside's corps. This,
it turned out, foredoomed the enterprise to
what Grant in his Memoirs called a ‘stupendous
failure.’
“It was brought out then and by a congres-
sional investigation later, that Ledlie's ‘bad
habits’ and consequent unreliability were well
known in the Union army. It was disclosed
that Ledlie stayed behind in a dugout ‘drinking’
throughout the Crater action and could not be
induced to go out and try to extricate the rem
ants of his division from the deathtrap in
which they were being torn to shreds piece-
meal,
“Ferrero, following with the negro division,
joined Ledlie in the ‘bomb proof’ while his
troops hurried on, soon to be huddling with
Ledlie’'s in the fire-swept Crater until all that
could of both Bivisions recoiled before the rush-
ing Confederate counter-charge which reestab-
lished their line,
“Pleasants commenced work at 12 noon, June
25, 1864, in the ravine between the hostile lines,
with Improvised tools and materials and on
July 17 the main tunnel, 5108 feet in length,
was complete. Sounds of Confederate counter.
mining causes ‘leasants to stop. Work upon the
right lateral gallery at the end of the tunnel
was begun at 6 p. m, July 18, regardless of audi-
ble enemy counter-mining, and work on both
right and left laterals was rushed to comple
tion July. 23. A total of 18,000 cubic feet of
earth was exeavated.
“Four tons of powder were placed in the lat
erals July 27 and the miners’ tamping was com
pleted July 28 Pleasants was ordered to ex-
plode the mine at 3:30 a. m, July 30, and lighted
the fuse at 3:15 a. m.
“The mine failed to explode. Lieut. Jacob
Douty and Sergt. Henry Rees, who volunteered
to go in and see why, found the fire had stopped
where fuse lengths had been tied together, They
spliced fresh ends, lighted the fuse again, and
nt 16 minutes before § a. m, the 320 kegs, con
taining 25 pounds each, blew up,
“Witnesses felt the earth quake but heard
nothing beyond a dull detonation, What they
saw, however, was enough, The alr above the
spot was filled with a mounting cloud of earth,
men, guns, planks and fragments. Confederates
pear the Crater ran in every direction, the
waiting Union legions shrank back, to escape
the shower of deb¥is. Both sides gazed astound.
ed, appalled, A great hole appeared in the
ground, 200 feet long, 60 feet wide, 25 feet
deep, smoking, dust-shrouded, horrible,
“Union artillerymen recovéred first, Almost
tmmediately they began laying down a fiery
barrage on both sides of the breach, Five
minutes later, blue soldiers In ones, twos and
ort Stedman
Battery 5
groups could be seen running towards the smok
ing Crater, Burnside and lLedlie had failed
to clear their own defense obstacles and to pre
pare passages out of and over their own dees
trenches and the form tro disordered
and delayed accordingly. ot wt was fired
from the Confederate side at first, 37 the
time the Crater
of foremost men,
cracking from flanks
were throwing gusts of ¢a
1 that scene %
“Two hundred and seventy-six Confederates
officers and men, were Killed by t
of Pleasants’ mine. Gallant officers of the Union
‘line’ sprang out of the death pit and led a few
of their bravest men as far as 100 yards be
yond the Crater's lips, but forward of that none
went and nothing could live. Survivors raced
back for what shelter the pit could give them
There one after another fell, torn by rifle balls
and shell fragments,
“Men started despairing)
from the Crater back to the
the lines began to dig a hasty towards
the Crater to save what life they could from
certain death If the men remained there. To
wards noon orders were golten into the Crater
for the men to withdraw the best they could
They dashed for their lines, suffering heavy
loss, The *flasco’ cost Grant 4.400 men. At about
2 p. m, the Confederates of Mahone's division
held the Crater and all the horrors that lay
in and about it"
After Grant's failure at the Crater, the siege
of Petersburg dragged on through the fall and
winter of 15804. Finally in the spring of 1885
came the climax In the tragedy of Petersburg
and in the greater drama of the decline of the
Jonfederacy. This act™ook place at Fort Sted.
man, the remains of which are one of the out
standing points of interest In the new national
military park today. Captain Montague de
scribes the action there and iis results as fol.
lows:
to go beyor
+
he ex) loglon
“Fort Stedman was named for Col. Griffin
A. Stedman of Hartford, Conn. commanding
the Eleventh Connecticut Volunteer infaqtry
regiment, who had fallen In action August §
1864,
“Confederates pretending to be deserters over.
powered the Union picket line in front of Sted.
man around 8 a. m., March 25, 1805, and were
closely followed by the storming party, in three
columns, one aimed straight at Stedman, the
other two at Its flanking batteries, The sleep
ing garrisons were captured or fled in a night.
mare of dismay.
“Grant and Meade were at City Point to greet
President Lincoln, who had come down to ate
tend a grand review of the Army of the Poto-
mae, or to be ‘in at the death’ as some thought
at the time, and It devolved upon General Parke
to take command, Parke ordered Tidball to
concentrate artillery upon the breach, Willcox
to recapture the last works and Hartranft to
concentrate his division, In reserve, and support
Willcox.
“Dawn was breaking. Fort Haskell began
flank fire upon the Confederates, Hartranft led
what formed troops he could find to check the
enemy and gain time, Fort Haskell repulsed
determined attacks. At 7:80 a. m. Hartranft
received an order to take his assembling divi
gion and recapture Stedman, now swarming
with the enemy, He had the charge sounded
15 minutes later and ‘in no time,’ ns one writer
put it, the Stars and Stripes were back upon
Stedman's parapets, The Confederate wave
receded to roll forward no more,
“Fifteen days later that happened which had
to happen at Appomatiox Court House”
(® by Western Newspaper Union.)
"
Soil, Says Expert
Losses by Heavy Rains Can
Thus Be Reduced to
Minimum.
(Prepared by the United Biates Department
of Agriculture. )—WNU Bervice
Washing away of fertile top soll
from cultivated soils in north central
Missouri by heavy rains is reduced to
a remarkable minimum when the land
is terraced properly, says A. T. Hol
man, of the bureau of agricultural en
gineering, United States Department
of Agriculture, who has charge of the
experiments at the federal erosion ex-
periment farm at Bethany, Mo. His
statement Is based upon accurate
measurements of soll losses at the
farm in 1931 from terraced land
planted In corn.
Measurements were made on both
level and graded terraces planted to
corn, during a period when the rain-
fall was from 50 to 00 per cent in
sourl. The data so far obtained Indi
cate that level terraces or those with
small grades are more desirable in this
region than terraces with 6 inches fall
in 100 feet. The measurements show
comparatively little soll loss from
sheet erosion and no formation of
gullies,
Soll losses from unterrasad areas on
the farm planted to corn averaged
140 tons an scre—00 to 100 times as
great as the losses from terraced land.
The average loss from terraced land
in three corn fields, land varying In
The si
loss was little more than one ton an
acre. It occurred on and with an
average slope of 13 feet ia a hundred,
protected by level terraces.
On a steep, rough hill
corn, with terraces having
y 85 pounds { than
r
planted to
merous and hea
i
{Inn terraces
According to
level terraces ns compare
More States Affected
(Prepared by ‘he United States Department
f Agriculture ’ Wat Ket oe
Blister rust, a serious disease of
five states heretofore belleved free of
the disease » United States Depart
aa i
ment of Agricultu ports. The
Virginia, Ohio, and
the total of eas
These bring
which
Blister rust is spread by the wind
also on currant and gooseberry plants
trol is the eradication of currants and
The rust spread from Pennsylvania
ginia. In Maryland it was found on
white pine,
Agricultural Notes
In eggs the presence of an air cell
*. = @»
Work corn ground well before plant.
Kill the weeds before
Every chick that comes from an In-
cubator is not a desirabic—there are
. = »
Gas ant colonies by pouring carbon
bisulphide into the hill or nest. These
busy creatures are a nulsance in the
garden, because of thelr habit of col-
onizing aphides upon plants.
. » »
Curculio winters In hedge rows,
woody and grassy spots and trash left
around the orchard. Burning over
these wintering places is a good plan
and will catch a good many of the
adults,
» » -
More varicties of native grapes have
been found In the United States than
in all the rest of the world combined,
experts of the Department of Agricul.
ture report. Altogether In the 13
grape growing sections of the country
there are to be found 80 varieties of
grapes,
. & »
Some birds will eat 100 or more in-
sects at a meal and, if the insects are
small, may devour several thousand,
Bird refuges on farms atiract and pro.
tect the birds, which in turn help to
destroy the insect pests
False Economy in
Use of Cheap Seeds
Advice Given New Yorkers
(By PROF. BE, L ORTHEN, New York
Bilate Colleges of Agriculture, WN Ber
Avold false economy's lure of low
prices on alfalfa and clover seed. If
necessary, reduce the rate of seeding
or the acreage, or both.
3y a little better seed bed prepa-
ration, the standard rate of seceding
for both alfalfa and clover may be re-
duced as much as 10, 15, or even 20
per cent. Where clover Is secded on
winter wheat, less seed and a light
harrowing Immediately after seeding
may bring as thick a stand as a nor
mal amount of seed, If a mixed seed-
ing is be made, get the different
seeds and mix them at howe,
Make certain that seed is adapted
to local conditions for the hardiest is
none too good for New York's climate,
All red clover seed should be north
ern-grown and either certified or of
guaranteed origin. Buy either Grimn
Ontario variegated, or other varieg
ed types of alfalfa and demand
certified seed or a satisfactory
antee of the source of the sced
€
iar
o
Work Horse Needs anc
Deserves Proper Care
Correct fitting and proper adjust
ment of harness Is a big step
elimination of sore si
horses, says the Nebraska
Agriculture, Cleaning the
shoulders following the day’
and again before harnessing
morning will help prevent sore
ders,
A properly fitted collar
lows the flat hand .to 1
the collar and the win
wilde
mits the finger tip
side of the neck just abo
der points, The
snugly and be dra
the collar so that
will be about one-third
above the shouldes
The avera
sumes about
ind 5,000 pounds
Dosing Wormy Lam
One of the lamb’'s worst er
the cor ach worm.
mal does not thrive satisfact
when carrying this parasite, and
sequently the fa
ay to avold these wor:
henge pasture so there will
anger of the lambs picking
wes deposited on the gra
other sheep.
Sheep can be treated
with a vermifuge. Son
each animal with one to four ounces
of a 1 per cent copper sulphgle solu-
tion. This sol n is made by dis
solving one-fourth pound of copper sul
phate in three gallons of water. Ewes
receive from two to four ounces, de
pending on their size, while lambs get
one to two ounces. Dose with an ordi-
pary syringe or with the aid of a
nel or small rubber tube. Care should
be taken not to lift the sheep's head
up, since this may cause stranguia-
tion.—~Wallace's Farmer,
Clean Ground for Pigs
“i wanted to see whether there was
anything to this clean-ground system
of raising hogs,” said Axel Dergsten
of Riley county, Kansas, in Success
ful Farming. “So a year ago 1 sepa-
rated my brood sows into (wo
bunches. One half I left in the
where 1 have raised hogs every year
and the other half 1 moved down in
the gifsifa field.
“I fixed up an automatic waterer
but it didn't work very well, so | had
to carry water, but it was worth
while. The pigs out on the clean
ground grew right away from those
farrowed in the old lots and at five
months of age were from 00 to 75
pounds heavier, Next year every sow
I have will farrow on clean ground,
as I am fully convinced that it is the
only way to raise hogs.”
———— ors.
New Hive Queens
New queens will be accepted more
readily by old colonies if introduced
during the honey flow. The old queen,
however, should not be removed until
about three weeks prior to the end of
the flow or until her bees are no long-
er of use in the honey flow. The new
queen should be introduced and lay.
ing about eight weeks before frost.
This allows the rearing of young bees
for the winter season. Failing queens
should be replaced at any time by
young, vigorous queens, but care
should be exercised to get those of
good strains,
Starting Sweet Clover
Sweet clover grew rank along the
road by the T. J. Sands farm, Brown
county, Kansas, but Mr. Sands coulda
get it started on thin spots in the pas
ture. Thinking that lack of inocula
tion might have cansed the faliure, hie
hauled a load of dirt from the road
glide and threw it down, a shovellul
in a place, in the pasture, lanis
sprang up wherever the inoculatid soil
was thrown. In a short time, the
whole area was inoculated, and grew
clover successfully.—Capper’s Farmer,