Project Gutenberg 2014-12-25 Public domain in the USA. 151 Shearman, Sumner U. (Sumner Upham) 1839 1914 Shearman, Sumner Upham 10034469 Battle of the Crater; and Experiences of Prison Life Produced by MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive). "Battle of the Crater; and Experiences of Prison Life" by Sumner U. Shearman is a personal narrative detailing the author's firsthand experiences during the Civil War, written in the late 19th century. This historical account focuses on the Battle of the Crater, which took place in 1864, and the subsequent experiences of the author as a prisoner of war. Shearman, who served as a captain in the Fourth Rhode Island Volunteers, provides a unique perspective on the battle tactics, chaos of the battlefield, and the harsh realities of prison life during the war. In this gripping narrative, Shearman begins by recounting the strategic plan of the Union to blow up a Confederate fortification via an underground mine, an operation initially spearheaded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pleasants. The explosion creates chaos, yet the Union's subsequent charge fails due to confusion and a lack of strong leadership, leading to surrender under dire circumstances. Shearman's detailed observations continue as he describes his harrowing journey as a prisoner, detailing the deplorable conditions, scarce food, and the camaraderie that developed among the prisoners. The narrative captures the emotional toll of war, the tactics of survival, and the bittersweet feeling of eventual freedom after months of uncertainty. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons Petersburg Crater, Battle of, Va., 1864 E456 Text Category: Biographies Category: History - American Category: History - Warfare 69240 2025-09-19T08:28:10.773853 text/html 45584 2024-10-24T13:24:35 text/html 122369 2025-09-19T08:28:12.653853 application/epub+zip 120782 2025-09-19T08:28:11.211849 application/epub+zip 68736 2025-09-19T08:28:10.978863 application/epub+zip 154851 2025-09-19T08:28:13.950859 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 144725 2025-09-19T08:28:12.417856 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 92866 2022-09-21T16:54:35.458040 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 59207 2025-09-19T08:28:10.651873 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 39301 2024-10-24T13:24:35 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16717 2025-09-19T08:28:14.084848 application/rdf+xml 13144 2025-09-19T08:28:11.045876 image/jpeg 2134 2025-09-19T08:28:11.011854 image/jpeg 113250 2025-09-19T08:28:10.782871 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog