OR XL P1 (Broadfoot Sup.) #22: Statement of Captain Henry G. Flanner, Branch NC Arty, July 30, 1864

OR XL P1 (Broadfoot Sup.) #22: Statement of Captain Henry G. Flanner, Branch NC Arty, July 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: In this “statement” Captain Henry G. Flanner, commander of the Branch North Carolina Artillery (or Flanner’s Battery), writes the Southern Historical Society Papers in response to an earlier article entitle “The Defence of Petersburg” by W. Gordon McCabe.  Flanner does not have an issue with what McCabe wrote.  Instead, he wants to add his battery’s experiences at the Crater to the historical record.  Over two pages he does so in great detail.  Flanner claims his battery saved Petersburg from capture on July 30, 1864. While I have no doubt he helped, I am sure other units present that day would quibble with his assertion, as so often happened in the pages of this magazine.

Source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 5, pages 247-248

Available Online?: Yes. I transcribed and posted Flanner’s account of the Crater on my site.

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