>> good morning ladies and gentlemen. we thank you this morning for being with us here at petersburg national battlefield on the 150th anniversary of battle of the crater. my name is chris price. for those of you who were with us this morning at 5:30 we thank you again and welcome you here to the park. i was remarking a few minutes ago, much like it was for the soldiers 150 years ago who were in the oberlin campaign that started in 1864, it has been a long road to petersburg. we started this 150th event for three parks on may 3, at spotsylvania courthouse. we have moved south ever since. it has been quite a feat. it is the first time three parks within a process of these commemorations have shared programming where we have tried to make a continual program of the oberlin campaign rather than look at it as the wilderness, spotsylvania, that this was one continual process for the soldiers 150 years ago. for some of you in the audience we have senior faces before. we know you have been on the road with us, and we appreciate that. [applause] this morning i would like to introduce to you the superintendent of petersburg national battlefield, lewis rogers. lewis began his career in 1984, a park ranger. he took his first herman it position at those sites the following year in 1985 as park ranger and resource management visitor protection specialist at the sites there. 1990 he moved to the parkway in virginia. he served as a law enforcement ranger with the added duties of supervising law enforcement, and he was responsible for a living history appalachian farm and seasonal visitor contact stations. he became chief ranger at booker t. washington in 1992. the chief of interpretation responsible for the interpretation and visitor protection, resource management, fire management, and collection management at the side. he became a supervisory park range of law enforcement at independence national struggle park and moved to valley forge in 1997 as a supervisory park ranger and lend later as the chief ranger were he managed law enforcement and interpretation. in 2009 he took on the role of superintendent in new hampshire. he became superintendent of petersburg national battlefield in 2010. most recently served as our acting deputy regional director, the chief of staff original director here for the northeast region. he holds bachelor's degree in parks and recreation, with concentration with resource management. he is a graduate of the federal law enforcement training center with basic law enforcement criminal investigative background. it is my privilege to introduce him to you. [applause] >> thank you. i appreciate the introduction. i am very honored to be here today. i want to take some time while i am here to let you know just what this means to me. when i was a child, ira member sitting in front of the tv. this goes back a ways when black-and-white movies dominated. this goes back a ways. when 12:00 came, the tv actually went off. [laughter] i came or members sitting in front of the tv late at night. i've are member watching the old war movies. i remember watching john wayne, and those guys as they fought in battle. they cried and died and fought for freedom. i can remember all of those things. i fell in love with those movies. it inspired me. it motivated me. then one day a peculiar thing happened. i can remember during that time that we began to integrate our schools. i can remember the fourth possible. i can remember how it affected me and how i watched the social and racial unrest that played our country. i can remember the american flag being carried in the hands of the ku klux klan members. it waved. these images began to enter my mind and poisoned my imagination. when i began to watch fighters on tv again, a small voice echoed in the back of my mind. it told me if you were there, you would not have done these things. these images were not for you. perhaps you would have been a porter, a dishwasher, or a bellman. if you were there you would never have flown those planes. because of these images i believe that. i believed i never would have fought in combat, i would never have served on a naval ship. that voice had a peculiar effect. i found myself drawing away from america. in school i stood for the pledge of allegiance but i stop crossing my heart. i would not repeat the words. i felt the country had rejected me. i felt i was lost. a stranger in a strange land. i could not understand why i was here. this land may have been your land, but i did not feel this land was my land. when i saw the stars and stripes waving in the breeze, when i saw the stars and stripes on porches, or on the fourth of july parade, i actually believed that flag did not waive for me. it stood for a different society. a different people. the it did not represent me. then one day i picked up a book, and it was a small magazine put out by a man by the name of tony brown. in that book he dedicated the entire book to this story of the tuskegee airmen. i learned about the fighter group which included the 100th, three hundred first, along with the 477 the bomber crew. a peculiar thing happened to me. i began to dream again. i could see myself in history, and perhaps i could have served at valley forge under george washington. now i knew they were there. perhaps i would have served upon the u.s. constitution in 1812, or fought the british. i could see myself there. perhaps i could have served here in petersburg in 1864 in the u.s. ct, or perhaps in 1866i could've helped settle the west as a soldier fighting in the ninth or fifth calvary. perhaps i would have been born a slave, but later graduated from west point. perhaps i would've found myself in the spanish-american war as a soldier. or in world war i in the. 69th, 370th, fighting under a french commander. perhaps i could have been the first african-american to fly in combat during world war ii, whose model was a heart with an arrow through it. or the first black saber to receive the naval cross during pearl harbor. perhaps i would have been at one of the first black marines in the segregated army. perhaps i would have been part of the 320th, the only balloon barrage of italian that landed on the beaches of utah and omaha on d-day. or the 93rd infantry, while fighting the enemy to keep them from destroying what i have built. or the red ball express, with 77% participation. perhaps i could have served with them when they forced a hole in secret line. perhaps i could have been when they linked up with the soviets in austria. or the 8th marine infantry. buffalo soldiers fought in korea and later 580 jets. perhaps i could have been charles young, the third african-american to graduate from west point. the first two obtained the rank of colonel. he was appointed the first acting superintendent at sequoia national park. that was too long ago, but i can be one now. as i continue to educate myself about the contributions of african-americans in times of war, something peculiar began happening. when i look at those movies again, i couldn't hear that voice anymore. my love affair with those movies rekindled. this is the most peculiar part. not just the ones about black fighters. i began to embrace of the leathernecks, the black sheep, the dirty dozen. what changed was i had found my place in history. i knew i was there. just out of the scene, flying those planes. driving those tanks. i found my place in history, and something to be proud of. we all want to tell those tales of history. we want to hear those parts, to shape the hearts of our children. they compel us to get out of bed in the morning and push on through another day. people want to see themselves in history. in october, in the late 1980's, i was taking the oath with other sailors. i found myself on a plane off to the u.s. navy rotc. i found myself to be a cb. a few years ago, i found myself watching my son pass in review. i know this is not true, but sometimes the voices of hate can be so loud you can hear the voices of reason. i asked wayne to a young man we have been serving this country since our conception. i explained about the buffalo soldiers and the 761st battalion. he said i think i can serve. eisele john wayne, and i loved him. i saw the black sheep, and i loved them. it was described by something chappy said, and was written later in a book. he titled his book "an american." he said when a reporter asked about his title and what he titled it so simply, he said i fought to heart for this country and i have lived here, and i have given. he said i've done too much. i'm not a black american. i'm not african-american. i am simply, an american. you know, something happened to me when i went back to school. i stood stronger. i crossed my heart. i said those words with pride. now, when i look and see the american flag blowing in the wind, waving in the breeze, i have come to realize that flag waves for me. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. this morning, our colors will be presented by the color guard. would you please rise. this is followed by the national anthem. ♪ [national anthem] ♪ [color guard] >> our invocation will be given by dr. george lyons. he is pastor here in petersburg. >> pray with me as i pray aloud in my tradition. gracious god, after 150 years of reflection and remembrance, we invoke your name so that you would pride our hearts to member the lives lost in battle, so that we might see peace in our times. women and men together from every station and culture, 150 years later, in harmony, as community. out of this place of sorrow, make this day a celebration, a celebration of the community of humanity. our plea remains, sectional strife be forgotten in the name of the one who is our everlasting fortress and peace, amen. >> we are fortunate this morning. we have worked hard, with the u.s. postal service, to make this event what it is today. we are honored to have with us this morning the chief postal inspector of the u.s. postal inspection service. guy petrill. he overseas all aspects of the postal service. you can have a seat. [laughter] hopefully that is my glitch of the day. the national headquarters office includes 18 field divisions, to service centers, and the national forensics laboratory. it is staffed by 700 police officers, and 600 support personnel. he serves as chairman of the universal postal union's postal security group. he oversaw all national security programs for the postal service. he is a native of west virginia. he grew up in new orleans. he joined a postal service in 1987. 1991, he became a postal inspector where he investigated internal and external mail theft. since that time, he has held a number of management positions in metropolitan areas. in 2008, he served as inspector in charge where he guided the postal service toward a risk and management analysis platform, and implemented numerous cost-effective and innovative solutions. he overhauled the external website. he holds a bachelors degree. it is my pleasure to introduce him. [applause] >> thank you. i was going to tell you to sit down. i like a crowd that knows what you are doing. if i go too long you can walk out on me. it is neat. great remarks. we stand in the shadow of the crater, the earth that location to dedicate the civil war battle of petersburg stamp today. this is a latest in a series of stamps that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the civil war. today we commemorate 2 battles in the conflict. in mobile, alabama they are dedicating a second stamp, it depicts admiral farragut's battle in mobile. it is fitting i am here to dedicate this historic civil war stamp. why? the inspection service played a vital role in keeping our country connected during and after the war. it has been protecting united states mail and customers for two centuries am including the civil war years. special agents were known to introduce services that are still used this very day. the postal money order. money orders have their origin in the war between the states. special agents also helped deliver mail to troops in the field. they reestablished mail service in southern communities as they return to federal control. the stamp we dedicate here today is a rendering of the painting, the charge of the 22nd negro regimen. it depicts an early part of the petersburg campaign, it was the longest, most complex, and perhaps most important of the civil war. today we also have the stamp designer, phil jordan. the soldiers shown on the stamp were part of the 175th regimen. these troops are fighting not just for the continuation of the nation, they were fighting for their own freedom and the freedom of their families. the united states colored troops were made up of freed blacks from the north and escaped and freed slaves from the south. these troops formed after the emancipation proclamation. brave men put their lives on the line in order to prove that they were fit to be citizens. riders, statesman, and abolitionist frederick douglass said let the black man get upon his person the button us, and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny the right to citizenship. the colored troops made up 10% of the strength of the union army. the troops were instrumental in the success of many of major late were campaigns. referring to them, an officer of the colored infantry wrote i never saw troops fight better, more bravely, and with more determination. with the issuance of this year civil war stamp, the postal service is proud to honor the memory of these troops. it is proud to honor all the soldiers and sailors who served. the petersburg in mobile-based stamps are being issued as forever stamps. they will always be good to mail a card or letter no matter what the postage rate may be, to honor the troops that help serve to reignite this nation. if i could have those on stage join me, we will unveil the civil war battle of petersburg stamp. [no audio] >> i have the privilege this morning of introducing to you dr. malcolm beech. he is from north carolina. he attended undergraduate school in atlanta, georgia. he accepted a marketing management position with verizon in washington d.c. he completed a doctoral studies in marketing from the university of phoenix. a third-generation serial entrepreneur, he found a multimillion dollar entertainment company with five locations in washington, d.c. as a civil war historian, he is the founding director of the cultural heritage museum in north carolina, dedicated to the as a civil war historian, he is the founding director of the cultural heritage museum in north carolina, dedicated to the two hundred thousand african-american soldiers who thought with the union army in the american civil war. presently, dr. beach is president of the united states living history association, dedicated to preserving the history of african-american participation in the civil war. he is the senior vice president of the national business league, the national business trade association done that by booker -- founded by dr. booker t. washington in 1900. also, he is the past chairman of the district of columbia chamber of commerce, the largest business membership organization in the washington metropolitan area. it is my pleasure to introduce to you -- [applause] >> thank you. i didn't realize i was that old and had been around that long. [laughter] you start to do these reenactments and think about the 1800s and say maybe i have been around for a while. good morning to all of you. i wanted to thank you for coming out. this stamp in the ceremonies -- this stamp and the ceremony surrounding it means a lot to us. we are reenactors. rs of themmemorates thousands of african-americans who fought for their freedom during the american civil war. we go all of the country not only doing reenactments, but we do living history demonstrations. what we find is that the impact on our audience, especially the young audience,, they can see -- especially the young audience, as our superintendent said earlier, they can see themselves in history. when they see us, they see people that look like them. they understand how important this particular war was to the african-american community. just to put in quantitative perspective, before the civil war began, there were 4 million african-americans enslaved in the united states. after the civil war was over in 1865, there were zero. ok? that is the most significant event in the history of african-americans in this country. equally as important, as you heard earlier, the north might have been fighting to keep the union together. the south was fighting for something called states rights. but the african-american in u.s. .s. coloredamerican u troops were fighting for their freedom. as well as their manhood. slavery had a way of emasculating the men and families when they could protect their families against the cruel actions of slaveholders. part of this war was about reclaiming and recapturing manhood. it made a difference when you had a uniform, and a weapon, and you went on to free your family. you got a different response than just saying a few kind words. to some slaveholder. when he saw that been coming at him, it made a difference. we tell our family members to recall the fact that slaves actually freed themselves. let's be clear. prior to 1863, the south was winning the war. lincoln decided it was a military, strategic plan to issue the emancipation proclamation at a time when he had no control over the slave areas. right? but he freed the slaves. in the emancipation proclamation there was a clause that allowed african-americans to join union forces, get a uniform, and fight in the battles. in actuality, the slaves freed themselves. this is the kind of independence that we are proud of. that is why the stamp today though important. -- is so very important. we are very happy and pleased with the postal service for -- and the national park service for having this ceremony here today. it is going to tell everybody across america these men fought for their own freedom. that is what is important. i want to thank my fellow reenactors here with us today and all the members of the united states colored troops living history association for what you do and what we did. telling the story of african-american participation in the civil war. thank you for coming today. [applause] >> three cheers for the post office. >> huzzah. huzzah! huzzah! hoorah! [applause] >> forward march. >> thank you. this morning, to give us perspective on the battle of the crater, the significance the event holds, and it was said earlier, petersburg is a complex military operation. nine and a half months, 292 days. we are just in the beginning. but of the military actions, one stands out above all of the others. that is the crater. on a daily basis we have visitors here, they want to know where is the crater. people know it is here. it is at petersburg. when we were at antietam, manyears ago -- how cornfields do we have in the united states? [laughter] but if you say "the cornfields," people know which you were talking about. you say the crater, people know what you're talking about. this morning, i am privileged to introduce a friend, a career service member of the national parks service, james blankenship jr. he is native to the petersburg area. he began his career in 1975. a seasonal park ranger at peterburg -- petersburg. in 1981 he accepted his first permanent position at independence national store park. -- national historical park. in 1982 he returned to virginia after excepting a position at colonial national historical park. in 1984, he returned to petersburg. he has held the position of historian, and historian curator of the battlefield. during his time he participated in curatorial projects at george washington's birthplace, longfellowll, national historic site, sandy hook national seashore, and jamestown and yorktown collections at national historical park. he is a member of the northeast region curatorial emergency response team. he spent 30 years firing civil war artillery. primarily field artillery. he served at the national level of 19th century all territory instructor with the national park service historical weapons program. he is in the process of completing a manuscript on the united states military railroads during the siege of petersburg. he holds a degree in history from virginia commonwealth university. again it is with pleasure i introduced the park's historian and good friend, jimmy blankenship. [applause] >> folks, when we first started this process, they wanted a talk on the battle of the crater. i said, sure, i would be glad to do it. i was told i had 10 minutes. i'm going to condense nine hours into 10 minutes. it might be longer. needless to say i cannot do justice to the heroism both sides showed out here in 10 minutes. if you want to get more details about what happened, go on one of the tours being offered. on june 19, both sides dug in. most of the landscape was barren of trees. in places, the lines were far apart, but in other areas, the lines were very close. the lines in front of elliott sailor were 25 yards distance. when regiment was the 85th.lvania some of them were minors -- miners. they thought they could mine underneath, and literally blow a hole in the confederate lines. the digging began on june 25. it was completed a month later. the length of the mine would be 586 feet. they removed 18,000 cubic feet of earth in the construction. the sounds of digging, once they got underneath the battery, were hurt by south carolinians infantrymen and by virginia artillery men. the confederates were looking for the mine. anywhere the lines were close, they were digging. they were digging for listening galleries to hear the signs of digging. the union mine was 16 feet down. the confederates would go down 8-10 feet. they were on top, and at night when it was quiet, they were hearing the sounds of digging below. the end of the mine would be filled with 8000 pounds of gunpowder. the initial battle plan plan was to blow up the gunpowder, create a large hole in the confederate line. the initial attack would be led by african-american troops, and they would roll up the confederate lines to the north that behind me to the south, and then the rest of the troops would go through, around the hole, and capture the cemetery 1000 yards behind this fear. -- behind us here. if grant could get guns on top of that ridge he might have , petersburg. the plan was changed a few days later. general meade changed the plan. he ordered the commander to send in one of his white divisions to lead the assault. the attacking force was to go straight for blandford hill. other union divisions following would move to the right and left of the crater. major general johnson's confederate division defended this section of the line. ran some's north carolinians were to the north. right behind me. right where we are would be elliott's south carolinians. the virginians would be to the south of the crater, behind you. artillery was positioned to the north in what is now a cemetery behind me. ,ou had the virginia artillery and you also would have davidson's battery to the south behind you and to your -- to my right on what was then called jerusalem plank road. lampkin's and flanner's batteries. basically the confederates had artillery on the left, right, and in the rear. when union troops attacked they are going to be hit on three fronts. at 4:44 a.m., a tremendous explosion ruptured the earth, throwing men, cannons, and a huge chunk of clay the size of a four room schoolhouse toward the heavens. the casualties were 44 killed outright, a total of 278 known casualties. there were probably more. when this stuff blow up in the air, it has to come down. so much went up the it took 10 -- that it took 10 minutes for the debris to stop falling out of the sky. union soldiers were actually in the fallout area. they didn't stay there. they went back to the east to get out from under the debris falling. they had to wait 10 minutes for it to come down. once they did, they got appear -- up here to the confederate line and they saw a hole which measured 170-200 feet in length. 60 feet wide. 30 feet deep. plus remains, body parts of confederate soldiers all over the place. some half buried. some completely buried. the division moved for but they -- move forward, but they did not advance beyond the the hole. they were pinned down. potter's division would move up to the right. wilcox's division would move to the left behind you. they would capture roughly 400 yards of confederate lines. general mahone, three miles away, he received orders from lee to reinforce and love the union breakthrough. mahone brought his own brigade. later he realized he was going to need more men. who did also order sanders' alabama group -- brigade to come up. it would take them a while to get here. the african-american division would now advance. they were north of the crater behind me. by this point in time. there were 800 virginians. mahone can see there are union troops. he doesn't know they are african-americans. they can't tell a or black at this time. all he is doing is counting flags. 13, 14, 15. a lot of union soldiers up on that crest. mahone wanted the virginians and georgians to fight simultaneously. mahone has to make a snap decision. is it better to hit first or get hit first? he decides it's better to hit first. he sends the virginians in without the georgians. the georgians are not ready to go yet. these 800 virginians attack. they hit hard and they hit with tremendous ferocity. they were aiming at the crater itself. there is a misconception that union troops in the hole are noncombatants. they are hundreds of them on the rim of the crater. they are pouring out a tremendous amount of lead. virginians come at the crater. they veer off to the left. they run in through the teams in this area. there was hand-to-hand combat. out of the 800 virginians, half become casualties. some african-americans begin to panic because they were hit so hard by these guys. some panic spread to the white union troops. the georgians then attack. they reinforce the virginians. they would eventually take the lines to the north of the crater and to the south of the crater. i am doing a nine-hour battle in 10 minutes here. i have to skip a lot of stuff. finally at the end, by 1:00 p.m., the troops come across the field to my left. up, up just right there were those -- where those earthworks are. they are up on top of the earthworks. the crater was filled with union soldiers. the blood was running down the sides and pooling in the bottom. the confederates would take on mortar shells. they are lighting them by hand and tossing them down into the hole. they are taking muskets with bayonets attached, throwing them like like harpoons. you've got to remember, when you are in combat you are not a human being. you become an animal. if younot survive combat don't make that change. by 2:00 p.m. it was over. i'm going to read a few quotes. some are gruesome. but i want you to understand what it was like to be out here at that time. these fields we are in our killing fields. some of these are quotes. this one guy wrote -- "there was a pile of 20 dead men." -- "bulletswrote were hitting the men and then passing through and killing the men behind them. they were loading and firing as fast as they could and the men were dropping thick and fast, most shot through the head. every man who was shot, rolled down to the bottom and in places they were piled four and five deep. at the north end of the crater, over here, troops piled up bodies of dead comrades who tried to block bullets coming in through the trenches. another quote. this man was in the crater. "there was a light haired boy apparently under 18 who fired steadily at the rim. at bullets smashed into the boy and his head fell against my feet, his blood gushing over them. i covered his head and continued firing." here's another -- "i counted 21 blacks who were shot at this spot. blood was everywhere trickling down the sides of the crater. in many places, tons of it as large as a washbasin." this was the largest amount of african-american soldiers in any part of the war. and the largest amount of casualties suffered by african african-americans during a single battle during the civil war. here is another quote. "my tongue is swollen from the biting cartridges. i have to stop firing. once it went off as i loaded it. the discharge brought my eyelashes. a shell burst close to my head. i was unconscious for a few seconds. at another time, my ramrod was shot from my hand and twice i was hit in the hand." conditions get worse in the crater, if you can believe that. here is another quote. "one man was decapitated and body fell downwards. and the blood rushed out as from an overturned bucket." another quote. "one shell dug up to bodies that have been buried by the mine explosion." "everyone could see body parts flying in the air. blood and brains flew so freely in the air many were completely covered with them." general barlett was down of the hole. fortunately to him, his cork leg was shattered. he lost his cork leg at gettysburg. a few native americans were here, too. a few indians did a splendid work. some were mortally wounded. they chanted a death song and them in them -- four of a group. this is a story must have not realized. there are native americans on both sides. it is likely native americans fought native americans out here. there were could top us -- cata wbas north of the crater. , in the crater, company k. it is probable and likely you had natives fighting against natives. this one company in the first chippewa and other tribes in this regiment. this last quote is the one that gets me the most. "no air was starring in the crater. it was a sickening sight. men were dead and dying around us. blood was streaming down the sides of the crater to the bottom where it gathered and pools before being absorbed by hard red clay. the slaughter became monotonous until it ceased to horrify." presented aield horrific sites. the dead and wounded were piled up, white, african, and native american stretching in their death throes. the confederate works were filled with the dead and dying. in places, they lay so thick it , was impossible not to tread on them when making one's way through the works. inside the crater confederates found 133 bodies. confederates dug down to retrieve the bodies of their own men, and found the blood had penetrated the clay five inches down. in some places, the union bodies were piled up eight deep. the highest concentration of the remains of both sides in one area. there were hundreds of bodies in the area. three days later, a truce was called. both sides claimed their dead. during the truce, 600 remains were buried. these remains would be reinterred in the 1930's into either blandford cemetery or poplar grove national cemetery for the union. poplar grove is part of petersburg national battlefield. now for the casualties. confederate losses are not known in their entirety. at least 400 were killed. 700 wounded. 40 missing. a total of 1340. some sources go as high as 1600 out of 9400 engaged. well over 10% losses. some confederate regimen saw tremendous losses. company c went in the battle with 15 men. a small company. five were killed. 8 wounded. 13 out of 15 were casualties. the federal losses were extremely high. altogether, 504 killed. 1481 wounded. a total of 3800 men. the african-americans suffer tremendous casualties. out of 504 union troops, 433 were african-americans. 744 were wounded. many were captured. a total of 1200 known casualties. in most civil war battles people surrendered, some of them do get killed after they surrendered. it happens all the time. it happened here. some african americans were killed after they surrendered. killing enemy soldiers is more common than you think. both sides did it. all races did it. it happened in 4 other battles. during the siege of petersburg. it happened on june 15, the first day of fighting. it happened that the crater. it happened on september 29th at fort archer and it happened -- fort bragggreg on april 2. it happens in all wars. we hear about the germans .xecuting soldiers well, my cousin was over there and he said the americans do it, deal well. in conclusion, the battle of the crater was a great victory for lee. the siege would continue for eight months until petersburg and richmond fell to union forces on april 3, 1865. the long-term effects of this war, eventually we became the united states of america. it is a good thing when you look at early 20th century history. would we have been able to have gone to europe in 1917 and 18 and defeat the kaiser? don't know. it might have not worked out too well if we were divided. the same thing for world war ii. could we have defeated the germans and japanese if we were a divided nation? it is hard to say. this is in the realm of the unknown. i really think things were much better for everyone because we were the united states instead being two separate countries. i thank you for being here today. i thank you very much. [applause] >> i would like to give jimmy another round of applause. really, when we talk about the program today, 10 minutes -- it was agonizing to him. [laughter] [applause] but in fairness to his remarks, he has given us a lot to think about this morning. one of the things i would charge you with as visitors to the park today, and this is 150 years to the day of the battle, what those men talked about, take some time to walk these fields. by yourself. don't take a tour. just give yourself a few moments to contemplate the words that were spoken by those men spoke -- 150 years ago. we will not be able to horror, thee the sacrifice that was seen on this field in 1864. our keynote remarks this morning are coming from colonel paul brooks. he is the garrison commander for fort lee. colonel brooks assumed command of the u.s. army garrison of fort lee in august, 2013. so, just a short time ago. his army career began in 1984 when he enlisted as a military policeman and graduated from the united states military academy with a bachelors of science in 1991, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the armor corps. he also holds a masters degree in military studies from the marine corps university, and a masters degree in national security studies from the dwight d. eisenhower school for national security and resource strategy at the national offense -- defense university which he earned in june of 2013. colonel brooks' other military schooling includes air assault school, armored officer basic course, ranger school, the most important in the words of my father. the only one that matters. [laughter] scout commander certification, logistics officer in advanced course, combined armed services school, survival school. during his career, his earliest assignments between 1992 and 1995 were as a tank platoon leader in camp casey, korea, and a missile maintenance with the 27th first calvary division at fort hood, texas. 1996 until 2012, colonel brooks received roles of responsibility in north carolina, operations officer, 528th special support battalion, and operational resourcing and staff positions in the special army operations command. as a deputy commanding officer, during that time, colonel brooks also served multiple tours in iraq and afghanistan and various positions intional operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom. his awards and decorations include the legion of merit, bronze star medal with one oak leaf cluster, defense meritorious service medal, meritorious service medal, army commendation medal with three oak leaf clusters, army achievement medal with two oak leaf clusters, combat action badge, ranger tab, master parachutist badge and air assault badge. it is my honor to introduce to you garrison commander colonel paul brooks. [applause] >> thanks for that great introduction. it all sounds a lot better than it actually is. [laughter] i would like to say it is awesome to be here. i would like to welcome everybody and say it is great to be here. -- not anymore. those army days are done, right? it is always great to see you. every time we see running around and doing something, it is awesome, we appreciate it. i would like to recognize all the work that the park service, especially crisp rice -- chris bryce, has done to put this event together. not just this event, but all of the events over the course of the 10 months the cover the entire siege and the battle a petersburg, as well as the post office and all the people they'll bring it together. i want to give them all a round of applause for everything they do. i would definitely like to thank you for asking me to speak here today. i have a great sense of gratitude for being allowed to participate in today's event. the significance of this day and this event and the anniversary are not lost on me. i consider it a great honor to stand before you today and talk about this. one thing i do have to admit, when chris asked me to do this, i found the task daunting. come on, i am surrounded by subject matter experts on the civil war. they would still include more information in 10 minutes and i would ever be able to get in there. more specifically, experts on this battle. even though i am accustomed to not being the smartest guy in the room, it adds a new perspective to the situation. now i know i am a career soldier and i'm supposed to know the kind of stuff. in college i was not an economics major so we didn't talk about the battle of the crater too much in macro or micro economics. the one thing i do remember though, i actually remember this battle being discussed when i was in one of my history classes at west point. it is not so much the subject matter as it was my instructor, captain dan bolger. who eventually win on to become lieutenant general dan bolger and commanded the first cavalry the navyin iraq and training mission in iraq before -- in afghanistan before retiring. he always made it interesting. he was also the first person ever to make history something i wanted to go sit down and talk to. he didn't really teach history nearly as much as he told stories. isn't that what history really is? it is a story, it is our story. as the story of what got us here today. we commemorate the battle of the crater, which is just one of many chapters and ongoing -- in the ongoing history and ongoing story of our nation. as i said earlier, i am no historian, nor am i great storyteller. i will leave the details of the battle to more qualified personnel than myself. and lewis, that opening introduction of comments, thank you for setting the bar so high. [laughter] very powerful words. it was awesome. i am not going to attempt to tell the story or amplify it or offer any shocking new insightful details on how it unfolded. what i would like to talk about, though, is the people. the soldiers that late the part of that story as it unfolded here and you lay the part in every store in every chapter of every battle that our nation has participated in, and more to the point, the soldier serving now and the ones we have serving and signing up to serve every day. i would like to talk about them, their ability to secure our nation's future, the sense of duty and the sacrifice. it is a sacrifice that transcends far beyond just the soldiers who actually fight a battle, to their families, their friends and their home. that is something the commemoration will recognize over the course of this year and at different times and different locations across the country. in all, thousands pay the ultimate cost of that sacrifice on this spot. throughout this entire battlefield while writing this chapter. throughout our history, hundreds of thousands have paid that same price. countless more have been wounded or captured, their blood as ink that much of our history is written in. i am sure their reasons are just as varied as soldiers to our in -- join our ranks today. there are different reasons. then an outcome of the reasons to join our many, to make that sacrifice, to stand up for what in at all costs. during this battle, the mayor fought to defend the country, their family, their beliefs or their rights, or strictly due to their sense of duty. soldiers from the north dakota fought to maintain the union for the preservation of the nation or their way of life or the abolition of slavery. soldiers from the south, for the newly formed nation, for states rights, for something as basic as defending their homes and their families. for many this land we're on , right now is literally their backyard. they were born slaves could also medal ofongressional honor for his actions on this ground. also, those who were drafted. surprisingly, only 1.6% of the force. depending on who you talk to. i will leave that to the experts again. they represented themselves, their units and the army admirably on the battlefield. i'm sure i could never actively relate while they all came, but for those that were here, they all made the sacrifice required to write this chapter. the sacrifice, the sense of duty and this need to participate in or support or be a part of something much greater than themselves has played out time and time again throughout our history. what about our future and the soldiers who will lead us there? as a leader in today's army, we are required to look at the future. where are we going? and to help determine that the chapters of the future are of a secure america. in the 30 years and seven enlisted i since i , have seen phenomenal changes in our army and its soldiers. today, we are once again an all volunteer army and the quality, competence capability and sense , of duty to the nation of these volunteers is what will secure our future. every army in the world attempts to emulate the capability of our elected personnel and ncos. the bottom-line is, they can't do it. that is just the fact of the matter. some of them trying to do it for decades. we actively continually pursue efforts to actually teach other nations to adopt our model, but no one has been able to replicate it. that is because of our soldiers. these soldiers are the reasons we are so strong. as others chase us and try to emulate our capability, we will continue to improve and move forward and move farther away. one of the best conversations i thought that highlighted this i was working with the u.s. army special operations at fort bragg. the major was talking to a bunch of retired veterans who previously served in our unit. they were talking about how concerned they were with respect to the quality of a soldier and what had happened to the unit over the years. i have to tell you, that sergeant major was very adamantly opposed to what they were saying and was very upset by how they were saying it. he might have even thrown a couple expletives in there when he said that this unit could easily whip the old-timers. throw in your favorite expletive there. [laughter] he did not mean this is an insult to them, but a testament to the fact that we are always getting better, that it is our duty to continually improve the capability of our units and the people who defend our nation. he had no intent to belittle or diminish the efforts or their accomplishments and even closed the conversation my telling them that if we didn't prepare the next generation to be able to whip us as we should have been able to whip them, that we will have failed them and our country no matter what we accomplish on today's battlefield. this ethos, to continually get better, to not accept good enough, is an inherent part of our american culture. it is the reason we have and always will have the best military in the world. before i leave you thinking that this is just some chest thumping sales pitch, i would like to provide you with just a few telling details about today's army. in my lifetime, we have gone from a draft to an army whose ranks contain people whose only options were to either go to the army or go to jail. or 29% 28% on of our age eligible population can even qualify to get into it. 99% of today's recruits have a high school diploma or an equivalent. in an era were only 79% of high school students graduate. that is a 21 times lower rate of dropouts than the national average. overall, today's recruits are healthier and more physically fit than the vast majority of their peers, and they must adhere to a zero tolerance policy on drugs and criminal issues. it is actually statistically easier to get into college than it is to enlist. not become an officer, to enlist in the army. the life of a soldier is no secret to them. they join knowing they will endure hard times and sacrifice. they will be charged to keep us safe. the few that make the cut to get in and are willing to make that sacrifice, they are not always easy to find. if it was easy to find them we would not need an entire command devoted to recruiting them. those that make that cut to get in and then make the next cut to get through training and into a unit, they become part of something much greater than themselves. they are the ones with the combination of skills, the intelligence, the physical ability and the sense of duty to be part of that 1% of our population that wears the military uniform. 1% the concert life on the line -- the 1% who puts their life on the line to defend our nation, that is 1% i want to be a part of. that is the 1% that i proud to am be part of. anytime you see -- know that they were among the best of our society had to offer. they have more ability and potential than most of their peers. they still chose they chose to , put that uniform on and to accept the sacrifices that come with it. they are tomorrow's generals in command sergeant majors. they are the future of our nation. let me close by saying that i thank you again for the honor of being here, to stand in this hallowed ground with all of you and to remember this chapter in our history and the people who lived in it and the people who died in it. have a great day and god bless america. [applause] >> our benediction this morning will be given by reverend rick greenwood. he is with st. paul's episcopal church. i failed to mention also with pastor lyons, both churches represented here this morning were wartime congregations here in petersburg, but again, this morning our benediction, reverend greenwood. >> may god the earth maker, got god the universe creator, god these star grower, the builder of nations, god the lord of lords, god the king of kings, god the lover of mankind, may god who is our history, god who is our present, god who awaits us in the future, god be with us now. may god the pain bearer, got the -- god the one who suffers, god the bloodied sacrifice, god the redeemer, may god the incarnate one, got the one born of woman, god the one who lived as one of us, god who is with us, god who looks like us, god who frees us, god bless you now. may god the life giver, got a the sanctifier, god the divine breath, god the holy maker, may god the spirit share, got the community creator, may the peace revealer, got the comforter of all, may god who moves among us all god who , whispers divine love, god who lift us into eternal life, god lead us forward today. may god the earth maker, the pain bearer, the life giver, bless you and keep you now and always, amen. [trumpet playing taps] >> lewis, if i could have you backed up for some closing remarks this morning. i want to thank you all for being here with us today. on the 150th anniversary of the battle of greater. >> i want thank you all for coming. i've learned what it is time for things to be over it is time for them to be over. [laughter] i want to thank you all for coming out. the people don't realize it petersburg used to be a part of fort lee. we were actually cut out of fort lee to be created as a battlefield come created by one unit and one confederate soldier. i think the postal service for coming here and presenting the stamp, thank you. and thank you to the city of petersburg for working with us. thank you. and go and find yourself in history. thanks. [applause] you have been watching american history tv. you're watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend on c-span 3. >> next on american history tv, texas christian university steve -- professor stephen woodworth speaks about union general aj smith's guerrillas and their involvement and decisive action in the battle of nashville in december of 1864. this talk was part of a symposium on 1864 and the western theater. held by the civil war center at kennesaw state university and kennesaw, georgia. it is a little under 45 minutes. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. it is good to be here and see a lot of old friends. sack grocerieso for. seriously. -- goodod to listen presentations here. i have some very tough act to follow. i don't have a general in a jar or a president in a box. [laughter] i don't have a great powerpoint