The Crater

By Richard Slotkin

Categories: Literature & Fiction

The Crater is a 1980 historical novel by Richard Slotkin, a cultural historian and author of Regeneration Through Violence. It is set during the American Civil War. It tells the story of the Battle of the Crater in July 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia, when Union troops exploded a huge mine under Confederate lines and then failed to break through. Following soldiers and officers, including Black troops of the United States Colored Troops, it recreates the battle and its massacre.

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