On the afternoon of June 25, 1863, the brutal siege of Vicksburg reached a terrifying crescendo when Union forces detonated a massive subterranean mine directly beneath the Third Louisiana Redan. Federal engineers had spent days quietly tunneling through Logan’s approach, packing the terminus with over two thousand pounds of gunpowder right under the Confederate lines. The explosion shattered the earth, opening a massive crater that was immediately rushed by waves of infantrymen from the forty-fifth Illinois and alternating regiments.
The ensuing battle inside the smoke-filled crater devolved into a claustrophobic, hand-to-hand nightmare that lasted well into the following day. Unable to establish a clear firing line, soldiers on both sides resorted to throwing improvised explosives and hand grenades across the narrow earthworks, with some troops desperately tossing smoking enemy shells back over the parapet before detonation. Though the desperate assault failed to completely breach the Confederate defenses, the horrific combat demonstrated the grueling, industrial attrition required to eventually break the stronghold of the Mississippi River.
