It is the avowed mission of these pages to lay before the present generation the vision of War in all its horror that those who look upon them may pledge themselves to the furtherance of the day "when a cannon will be exhibited in public museums, just as an instrument of torture is now, and people will be amazed that such a thing could have been;" the day when "those two immense groups, the United States of America, and the United States of Europe," and the United States of Asia and of Africa, "will be seen placed in the presence of each other, extending the hand of fellowship across the oceans, exchanging their produce, their commerce, their industries, their arts, their genius; clearing the earth, peopling the desert, improving creation under the eye of the Creator, and uniting for the good of all, these two irresistible and infinite powers—the fraternity of men and the power of God!"
THE first days of 1865 around Petersburg were a hard strain on the soldiers. The winter's siege had been severe. The Confederates were desperate. Unable to break the Federal lines at Dinwiddie, Five Forks, or any of the many combats that were continually taking place, defeat and annihilation awaited them. On the first of April the entire artillery forces in the trenches before Petersburg began a tremendous cannonading which continued until dawn. The Union troops during the night tightened their lines around Petersburg until the following morning, which was Sunday. At daylight, on Monday, the third of April, Lee evacuated Petersburg and the Union forces entered the city about nine o'clock. Cameras were soon taken through the gates and during the day several photographs were taken, including a negative of the trenches containing the dead. This photograph shows a company of colored infantry. There were 186,097 colored troops enlisted in the Civil War. In many conflicts they showed great bravery, especially during the siege of Petersburg. An instance of their great courage was the attempt to break through the Confederate lines by tunneling under one of the fortifications and blowing it up with the charge of eight thousand pounds of powder. In the smoke of the explosion the colored troops charged through the crater and up the slope beyond, only to meet with a terrific fire in which hundreds of colored heroes were mown down like grass, with no hope of anyone reaching the crest, but they held to the charge until ordered to retire. The engagements around Petersburg during its last nine months cost the Union Army more than thirty thousand men.
PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN WHILE COLORED INFANTRY WAS MOVING TO THE BATTLEGROUND
THIS witness of a remarkable sight is so old that it will be noted that the tree at the right of the picture is being eaten away from the original negative. It lays before the eyes of all generations the view of the first wagon train entering Petersburg with provisions for the starving inhabitants after one of the greatest sieges in history. It was on Sunday night, about ten o'clock, the second day of April, in 1865, that the resolute Lee marshalled his troops for the evacuation of Petersburg. At three on the following morning the stronghold of the Confederacy was left to the Union forces. At nine on the same morning General Grant rode into the deserted city. The remaining inhabitants were panic-stricken and in a destitute condition. Many of them had escaped with their beloved leader while others, in abject terror, secluded themselves in their homes. Grant, with his staff, rode quietly through the streets until he came to a comfortable-looking brick house, with a yard in front, where he dismounted and took a seat on the veranda. The gentle manner of the great general found a response in the hearts of those who had feared him. Citizens soon gathered on the sidewalk and gazed with curiosity on the Union commander. News of the hunger of the people was hurried along the line. Great wagon trains of provisions struggled for miles through roadways choked with prisoners, stragglers and wounded. This photograph was taken as the first division, loaded with barrels of flour, pork, coffee, sugar, and other necessaries, rolled into Petersburg. With the brotherly affection that even the madness of war cannot destroy, the men in blue came to those devoted to the gray, not as enemies, but as fellowmen ever willing to relieve the suffering. The humanity of war is here exemplified.
