155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad

By Professor Earnest Veritas · Originally published October 2019 · pp. 1–9

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — lead photograph from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad Petersburg National Battlefield observes the 155th Anniversaries of the Battles of the Crater and Weldon Railroad/ Second Ream’s Station By Professor Earnest Veritas Special Correspondent to Civil War News -Western TheaterPetersburg National Battlefield held observations of the 155th anniversaries of the savage battles of the Crater and the battles for Weldon Railroad and Second Ream’s Station on July 27-28 and August 17-18 respectively. To explain to visitors about the Crater and the resulting battle; General’s Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee (Curt Fields and Thomas Jessee) were on hand to talk about what they were doing before and during the battle itself. They explained their efforts to dig and, conversely, find the Federal tunnel; to press or defeat, any advantage that might be gained by

Curt Fields portrays General’s Ulysses S. Grant at the 155th anniversary of Petersburg. (All photos by Jeff Seymour) the explosion. They held a number of scheduled talks with visitors and spoke to the scheduled Ranger-led tours, as well. Ranger Aaron Rowland said that there were more than 600 visitors to the park’s Eastern Front visitor center for the weekend. He said that there were more

Grant and staff (L to R) Greg Eatroff as Aide-de-Camp, Mark Day as General E. O. C. Ord, Grant, Rick Gist as Grant’s surgeon.

than 1,100 visitors for the battlefield talks and demonstrations over the two days. Those programs were: The Battle of the Crater extended walking tour, Mahone’s counter attack walk and demonstration, an author discussion about “Behind the rifle: Women Soldiers of Civil War Mississippi” by author Shelby Harriel, “United States Colored Troops during the Civil War” by Morris Lockhart, and “The Life of William Mahone” by Earl Blythe. Reenactors who brought the War to life for weekend visitors were:12th Virginia, 44th Virginia, Pegram’s Battery (Confederate), Cooper’s Battery (Federal), and the Ladies of the 12th Virginia in ongoing demonstrations at the Eastern Front visitor Center. The Aide-de-Camp to General Grant was Captain Gene Smallwood. The 155th anniversary of the Battles for Weldon Railroad and Second Ream’s Station was held during the weekend of August 1718. General Grant (Curt Fields)

was joined by General E. O. C. Ord (Mark Day) to talk of the success and failure of attempts to cut Lee’s supply lines. General Grant talked of his desire to cut Lee’s supply arteries by taking the Weldon Railroad and extending his lines to the Globe Tavern. He also addressed the same efforts leading to the second battle of Ream’s Station. General Grant and Ord both stressed the importance of railroads in the War in general and during the Petersburg Campaign in particular. General Grant was pleased to be joined on Sunday by his Aidede-camp as well as his personal Surgeon (Greg Eatroff and Rick Gist). Ranger Rowland advised that the numbers of visitors for the weekend was 532. They attended four programs presented by General’s Grant and Ord, an extended caravan tour of the battles for Weldon Railroad on Saturday and Sunday, and “Confederate Rail Supply Systems in Petersburg” (Saturday-Ranger Grant Gates/Sunday-Ranger Tracy Chernault). The second weekend anniversary observations were deemed

successful in explaining what happened at Weldon Railroad and Ream’s Station. Ranger Rowland gave this statement to the local journalists: “The final year of the American Civil War brought large Federal armies to Petersburg where numerous offensives were launched against the city’s railroads. For ten months, Robert E. Lee struggled to defend the city’s lifelines. Petersburg National Battlefield commemorates the struggles of both sides that fought for control of the railroads.” Professor Veritas would like to thank NPS Ranger Aaron Rowland for his significant contribution to this article. “Simply put: tell the simple truth, simply.” Professor E. Veritas

Photographs from the Original Article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 2 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 3 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 4 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 5 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 6 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 7 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 8 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 9 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 10 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 11 from the original article

155th Anniversaries of the Crater and Weldon Railroad — photograph 12 from the original article

Captions and credits appear in the article text as originally printed.