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 3, atparks on may spotsylvania courthouse. We have moved south ever since. T 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, spill something you 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. In 1984,an his career a park ranger. He took his first herman it position at tho
Believe that if those black regiments had been allowed to lead the assault, that would have been it. In other words, we can imagine black soldiers marching, charging over blanford hill, right, into petersburg. Thats a very soothing image. I think that tells us more about how we want to remember the war than the battle itself, because anyone who has studied civil war battles, they never go as planned. Right . Theres always something that goes afoul. So is it any surprise that given this massive detonation that no one really can predict what it will do to the landscape and whats beyond it. Remember, its not just that front confederate line they have to deal with. This is a complex sort of maze of bombproofs, traverses. Part of the problem is in the 1920s, the crater battlefield was an 18hole golf course. So a lot of that battlefield has been smoothed over in one way or the other. You really are hardpressed to get a sense of what it would have looked like in the 1860s. So would it have ch
Said, quote, the whites retreated into the niggers. Others were called having to, quote, fix bayonets to stop them. This was a desperate moment for the men in the 4th division, but for the other three divisions, there was now an added element of an enraged enemy that was likely to treat them as accomplices in citing foreign slaves in selection. George kilmer noted, quote, it has been properly asserted that white men fell back into the greater in order to keep whites from confederate vengeance. The 36th massachusetts, quote, mix them up so they, the confederates, didnt show white men any mercy at all. A few days into the battle, charles j. Mills of the 56th massachusetts, spoke for many when he confided to his mother, quote, they cannot be trusted for anything and are, in short, a hideous mistake, i fear. He, of course, was referring to the black division. The three white divisions had spent the morning holding precariously to earthworks in and around the crater. But now their black com
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 th
That started in early may of 64. It is a long road to peters work. We started this for three parts on made third. Park the national military. We have moved south ever since. It has been quite a feat for the national service. Make a tried to continual program rather than wilderness,t as the octal dania. This was one continual process for the these soldiers. We have seen faces before. You been on the road with us and we appreciate that. I would like to introduce to you lewis beganendent 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 inte