Griffith Farm
On the day of the Crater fight I was a boy 12 years of age. On the 17th day of June, 1864, the day on which Pegram’s battery took position as described by Capt. Pegram in his statement, my father’s house stood in the angle between the Baxter Road and the Jerusalem plank road. I saw Pegram’s battery take its position on the evening of the 17th, and earlier, in the afternoon of the same day, I saw the officers who selected the line whilst they were engaged in this work. About Monday or Tuesday, after Saturday the 18th, my father’s house was burned. From the night of the 15th of June to the night of the 17th this house and yard were occupied by Beauregard and Staff as headquarters (footnote page 224-225).
Timothy R. Griffith in War Talks of Confederate Veterans, compiled by George S. Bernard, 1892.
"This Battery has got to burn those buildings" -- the end of the Griffith Farm
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"The buildings, seven in number, on the Griffith estate (soon destined to become famous as the ground on which the battle of the Petersburg Crater was fought), were in our immediate front, and just in front, and a little to the left, of a rebel fort on Cemetery Hill, known to the Confederates as Elliott's Salient, or Pegram's Salient. These buildings ranged from southeast to northwest, and were somewhat lower than the rebel line, the southeast one being at the lowest point. The rebels had a habit of sending their sharpshooters into these buildings every day. These sharpshooters would raise the shingles slightly, thus making small loop-holes through which they watched our lines, and, as opportunity offered, fired at our men as they passed along, ignorant of the danger to which they were exposed. Many Union sol diers had been thus killed or wounded. We, of the 34th, in Fort Willcox, could do nothing to stop this murderous fire, in fact, not a man in the fort could raise his fingers above the parapet without having a sharpshooter's bullet strike him. These sharpshooters trained their rifles on their targets by placing them on two forked sticks, and so accurately that their bullets would sweep the top of the fort's parapet even at night, thus making it as impossible to do any work by night as it was by day. Every day from ten to twenty casualties would occur among the infantry. Gen. Willcox told me it amounted to a severe battle every day. I told him, in reply, that I had fired shot and shell into those houses, but had found that as fast as I drove them out of one they would go into another. "Well, Captain." said he, " I wish you could do something to stop this terrible fire."
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This set me to thinking, and I studied the matter over for a day or two, and, finally, after examining a percussion shell and finding, upon removing the plunger, it contained a space large enough to hold a fire-ball, I concluded to try these, if I could find material for making the fire-balls. I called Lieut. Garretson and then, as "necessity is the mother of invention," we were compelled to do the best we could under the circumstances. I found a cartridge bag filled with fuse clippings, which, when pealed, made very good meal powder. On searching the battery wagon some sulphur was found. I sent Lieut. Garretson with two men into the pine woods, near by, to gather all the pine knots they could find. These articles and some tar taken from a limber chest, provided all the ingredients needed for our fire-balls. For two days there was "no admission" to our tents. It was emphatically a "secret service" in which we were engaged. After two days' experimenting we concluded to test the result of our experiments by the effect that would be produced by the compound on hard wood Our composition proved to be excellent, for it burned a hole through the wood, while water had no perceptible effect when we tried to extinguish the fire. The mixture seemed to be just the thing we wanted. Taking the proper quantity for each we found we had enough of the composition to load thirteen percussion shells, which were ready for use by the evening of the second day of our experiments. Now, we had to wait only for a southeasterly wind to try our experimentald said to him, "Lieutenant, this Battery has got to burn those buildings." In his emphatic way he replied, "By God, Captain, we can't do it." However, I was determined to accomplish this feat, if it were possible. I sent the Lieutenant to Gen. Willcox's head quarters to obtain, if possible, five articles — meal powder, rosin, turpentine, sulphur, and tow — but all he could obtain was turpentine The peculiarity of my requisition brought Gen. Willcox to the fort to inquire for what purpose the articles were wanted. I very respectfully declined to answer, saying, that if I succeeded in my plans it would be all right, but if I did not, I did not want to be laughed at. At this Gen. Willcox laughed and said. " I knew you had something in your head again. I will see if those articles can be obtained; if so, you shall have them." In the evening word came from headquarters that they could not be obtained ; all departments had been searched in vain. shell on the lower buildings first, as the ground sloped very much to the southeast. Three days later the southeast wind came, July 21st. Lieuts. Garretson and Johnston had their four guns loaded with the fire shells, while the extra guns were kept ready for use in keeping the enemy from putting out the fire when it was once started. At 8 a. m. , July 21st, the first fire shell was fired. The aim was good and the shell exploded within the building. The second and third exploded in the same manner. Turning to Lieut. Garretson, I remarked, "The shells have gone, but have not produced the effect I desired, for they have reached no material that will ignite." The fourth shell was fired. It struck the roof and burst ; soon after flames leaped up. I now directed Garretson and Johnston to open fire with all four guns, firing one after the other with ordinary percussion shell. I did not want to have the fire put out, and this was my mild way of keeping the enemy from attempting to do so. Soon the fire was blazing briskly, and was clearly visible to every one on our entire line. When the infantry in our front understood fully what we were about, and saw now what damage had been done, burst into loud cheers along the whole line from the Appomattox River to Fort "Hell."
This terminated the existence of the Griffith buildings, for every one was burned to the ground. Only a few fence posts could be seen sticking out of the ground near where they had stood. As the buildings succumbed to the flames, one after the other, there was great rejoicing among the infantry who had been the principal sufferers from the fire of the sharpshooters who had found in the buildings a safe cover." (Jacob Roemer, Reminiscences of the War of The Rebellion, 1897: 229-232)
This terminated the existence of the Griffith buildings, for every one was burned to the ground. Only a few fence posts could be seen sticking out of the ground near where they had stood. As the buildings succumbed to the flames, one after the other, there was great rejoicing among the infantry who had been the principal sufferers from the fire of the sharpshooters who had found in the buildings a safe cover." (Jacob Roemer, Reminiscences of the War of The Rebellion, 1897: 229-232)
