Drakker
Banned
During the Civil War, during the Siege of Petersburg, one of Ambrose Burnside's commanders, Henry Pleasants, came up with the idea to blow up a mine under the Confederate lines, followed by a general attack. Burnside gave the go ahead, and a unit of USCT(United States Colored Troops) was trained for the attack. However, General Meade, Burnside's superior, ordered him not to use the USCTs, supposedly in fear of political repercussions if the attack failed and the troops were slaughtered. Of course, that's probably not what his personal reason was, but it made for a convient excuse. As a result, lots were drawn among the commanders of the white units. The man whose unit was selected, James Ledlie, promptly got drunk and provided no leadership during the affair. As a result, the attack moved forward slowly and in confusion, with a lot of gawking at the results of the explosion, and it was destroyed.
My question is this.....,what if Meade hadn't intervened and the actually trained USCTs were used in the attack? Would the plan have worked and Petersburg fallen early? What ramifications would it have on the rest of the Civil War?
My question is this.....,what if Meade hadn't intervened and the actually trained USCTs were used in the attack? Would the plan have worked and Petersburg fallen early? What ramifications would it have on the rest of the Civil War?