OR XL P1 (Broadfoot Sup.) #17: Journal of Lieutenant William C. Miller, Btty B 1st PA Lt Arty, June 13-30, 1864

OR XL P1 (Broadfoot Sup.) #17: Journal of Lieutenant William C. Miller, Btty B 1st PA Lt Arty, June 13-30, 1864¹

SOPO Editor’s Note: The Broadfoot Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies is rare and not sold in single volumes.  As a courtesy to researchers, I’m making available summaries of the reports contained in this set relevant to the Siege of Petersburg.

Summary: This one-page report by Lieutenant William C. Miller of Battery B, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery covers the battery’s role in the first two weeks of the Siege of Petersburg. The battery was engaged on June 17-18, 1864 at the Second Battle of Petersburg, and if the Broadfoot Supplement editors did not make a mistake, it appears the unit also fired 93 rounds at a Confederate fort opposite their position on June 30, 1864 without reply.  I question the date of June 30 because it is random and because there are numerous other mistakes of this sort in at least this volume (Volume 7) of the Supplement to the Official Records.  I suspect this may really be July 30, 1864, the date of the Battle of the Crater, both because a major event happened that day and because it aligns with the reports of other Fifth Corps batteries.  I would have to see the original report to know for sure.

Source: Library of Congress, Henry Jackson Hunt Papers

Available Online?: No.

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