Remembering the Crater at Virginia State University

Today I made what I hope to be the final research trip for my Crater manuscript.  I recently came across an M.A. thesis at Virginia State University by Travis J. L. Stephens and decided that I couldn’t risk not taking a look at it.  In 1967 Stephens completed a thesis with the title, “Participation of Negro Troops in ‘The Battle of the Crater,’ July 30, 1864.”  I wasn’t so much interested in the tactical details of this essay; rather, I was hoping that the author would comment on the broader social and political context on the 1960s and how this influenced the decision to focus on such an important moment in black history.  [For those of you who do not know, Virginia State University is a historically black college in Petersburg.]  Unfortunately, there was very little commentary beyond the confines of the event in question.  I should have known better.  It’s an incredibly well written thesis and is one of the best tactical studies of the Fourth Division at the Crater.

I was pleased to find that Stephens dealt briefly with the massacre of black soldiers following their surrender.

The Battle of the Crater was, in addition to being of the most crucial, also the most sanguine and inhuman of the Civil War.  Never before had troops of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee’s army, clashed with colored soldiers.  The very appearance of these former slaves in uniform agitated the Confederate troop’s hatred to a degree never previously encountered in any campaign.  Though the Confederate soldiers recognized the discipline of these Negro troops by admitting that they conducted a better assault, and gained more ground than their white contemporaries on July 30, it was also stated that these Negro troops could not endure bayonet and close-in fighting as well as the latter.  The frenzy of the Confederate troops upon being opposed by Negro soldiers was such that the rules of land warfare, previously observed when fighting white troops, were discarded.  The Negro troops were brained and butchered until even veteran soldiers became ill at the sight of the mutilated bodies…. When called upon to perform at Fort Hudson, Fort Wagner, and at Petersburg, the Negro units utilized were confronting the enemy for the first time.  One need no longer question the ability of the Negro to fight, for at each of the battles described, he not only fought, but died valiantly.

I’ve spent a great deal of time over the past few weeks surveying the way in which black Americans remembered USCTs and the Crater specifically.  It’s no surprise that this aspect of the war proved to be so attractive.  First, it provided a necessary corrective to the history of the Civil War, but it also worked to empower black Americans at at time when it was clear that a more assertive posture would be necessary in the cause of civil rights.  In other words, it allowed Americans to see themselves as soldiers in one continuous struggle that stretched back to the Civil War.  This emerges most clearly during the centennial celebrations of emancipation in 1963.  A quick survey of popular magazines such as Ebony and Jet include a wide range of colorful comparisons between the battlefields of the 1860s and 1960s.

On my way home I stopped at the Library of Virginia to check out a few scattered sources, which included a Civil War Centennial pamphlet published by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and featured the famous painting by John Elder.  As you can see it attests to the importance that local government and businesses attached to the Crater.  It clearly reflects the interpretation of the battle that the white power structure wished to celebrate.

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6 comments… add one
  • Travis Stephens, Jr. Jul 15, 2016 @ 0:56

    Hello Mr. Levin,
    My name is Travis Stephens Jr. and I am the son of Col. Travis Stephens, the author of the thesis “Participation of Negro Troops in ‘The Battle of the Crater,’ July 30, 1864.” Thank you for the kind words in your article about my father, they are much appreciated. I am not sure if you have a way to contact Mr. Neil Thax but he is correct, my father was his Commanding Officer in Hawaii during the time period of 1970-1972. I am looking forward to ordering your book with a special interest in the chapter on the Civil Rights movement. Thank you again.

    • Kevin Levin Jul 15, 2016 @ 5:11

      Thank you for taking the time to write. Unfortunately, I do not have any contact information for Mr. Thax. I do hope you enjoy the book.

  • Neil Thex May 30, 2012 @ 8:58

    I am just wondering if Travis J.L. Stephens might be COL Stephens, my former Commanding Officer in Hawaii during 1970-1972. I knew vaguely that he had at least one graduate degree, although I thought it might have been anthropology. Incidentally, COL Stephens was an outstanding Army officer. I understand he was one the Generals List, but instead retired from the Army to teach at Chaminade College on Oahu. Am I thinking about this person?

    Neil Thex
    1Lt, Infantry
    25th Infantry Division
    Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

    • Kevin Levin May 30, 2012 @ 9:09

      Hi Neil,

      Thank you for taking the time to write. I came across the Stephens thesis while conducting research at Virginia State University. I don’t know anything about him beyond this. You may be interested to know that I do mention him in my book’s chapter on the civil rights movement.

  • James F. Epperson Jul 26, 2010 @ 13:15

    By any chance, did you obtain a copy of that thesis? I wouldn’t mind seeing it myself.

    • Kevin Levin Jul 26, 2010 @ 13:20

      Unfortunately, I didn’t. I transcribed the relevant passages on my laptop. You might be able to get it through inter-library loan.

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