Henry Pleasants
Encyclopedia
For the English music critic Henry Pleasants, see Henry Pleasants (music critic)
.
Henry Clay Pleasants (February 16, 1833 – March 26, 1880) was a coal mining engineer and a brigadier general
in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. He is best known for organizing the building of an underground tunnel filled with explosives under the Confederate
lines outside Petersburg, Virginia
, resulting in the Battle of the Crater
on July 30, 1864, an opportunity for Union troops to break the defense of Petersburg
. He is also known, in fiction, as a character in Harry Turtledove
's alternate history book, The Guns of the South
, in which he conceives a similar idea to break a stalemated siege
.
, Argentina
, and did not live in the United States
until age 13, when he was sent to school in Philadelphia
. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad
and in anthracite coal mines. In 1857, he moved to Pottsville, Pennsylvania
, to become a civil engineer
in the local mining industry.
, but came east
and fought in such battles as Antietam
, Second Bull Run
, Fredericksburg and in the Wilderness
.
By 1864, Pleasants had risen to lieutenant colonel
and commanded the 48th Pennsylvania, which was one of the units outside Petersburg. Many of the 48th were coal miners, and Pleasants supposedly heard his men suggest running a shaft under the Confederate lines. Pleasants went to his superiors, who approved the plan. He battled a lack of supplies, as well as a lack of interest on the part of Union generals (until other attacks on Petersburg failed). He was successful in his construction to such an extent that the explosion killed nearly three hundred Confederate soldiers. However, the Union troops under Ambrose Burnside
failed to take advantage of the explosion and suffered considerable casualties. The Confederates recovered their original position.
On August 1, 1864, Pleasants was rewarded for his ingenuity and efforts by being promoted to command the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IX Corps
by Brig. Gen. Robert B. Potter, the division commander.
Pleasants was brevetted
as a brigadier general on March 13, 1865. The citation brevetting him specifically mentions his service at Petersburg—it was not his fault that other officers bungled the opportunity.
Pleasants returned to Pottsville after mustering out of the army in 1865 and resumed his role as a mining engineer for the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, rising to the positions of Chief Engineer and then Superintendent.
Pleasants died at the age of 47 and was buried in the Charles Baber Cemetery in Pottsville.
, Pleasants was captured by the Confederate forces and, after the end of hostilities, decided to remain in the Confederacy; eventually enlisting in the Confederate Army after the Rivington men attempt to overthrow the government. When facing a seemingly impenetrable defensive position, he hears a fellow soldier jokingly suggest going under the Rivington men's fortified position and conceives a similar scheme as he did in real life, a scheme which is quickly accepted by his commanding general, Nathan Bedford Forrest
. This attempt is more successful than that at Petersburg, and a massive crater is created, allowing the Confederates to break the Rivington men's defenses.
Henry Pleasants (music critic)
Henry Pleasants was an American music critic and intelligence officer. Born on May 12, 1910, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Pleasants studied voice, piano and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1977...
.
Henry Clay Pleasants (February 16, 1833 – March 26, 1880) was a coal mining engineer and a brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He is best known for organizing the building of an underground tunnel filled with explosives under the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
lines outside Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
, resulting in the Battle of the Crater
Battle of the Crater
The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the Siege of Petersburg. It took place on July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George G. Meade The...
on July 30, 1864, an opportunity for Union troops to break the defense of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
. He is also known, in fiction, as a character in Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
's alternate history book, The Guns of the South
The Guns of the South
The Guns of the South is an alternate history novel set during the American Civil War by Harry Turtledove.The story deals with a group of time-travelling Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging members who supply Robert E...
, in which he conceives a similar idea to break a stalemated siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
.
Early life and career
Pleasants was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and did not live in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until age 13, when he was sent to school in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and in anthracite coal mines. In 1857, he moved to Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Pottsville is the only city in and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,549 at the 2000 census. The city lies along the west bank of the Schuylkill River, north-west of Philadelphia...
, to become a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
in the local mining industry.
Civil War
With the outbreak of hostilities, Pleasants became a second lieutenant in the 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which enlisted for only three months. He re-enlisted as a captain in the 48th Pennsylvania in July 1861. The regiment initially saw service in the Western TheaterWestern Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
, but came east
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
and fought in such battles as Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, Second Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, Fredericksburg and in the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
.
By 1864, Pleasants had risen to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
and commanded the 48th Pennsylvania, which was one of the units outside Petersburg. Many of the 48th were coal miners, and Pleasants supposedly heard his men suggest running a shaft under the Confederate lines. Pleasants went to his superiors, who approved the plan. He battled a lack of supplies, as well as a lack of interest on the part of Union generals (until other attacks on Petersburg failed). He was successful in his construction to such an extent that the explosion killed nearly three hundred Confederate soldiers. However, the Union troops under Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
failed to take advantage of the explosion and suffered considerable casualties. The Confederates recovered their original position.
On August 1, 1864, Pleasants was rewarded for his ingenuity and efforts by being promoted to command the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IX Corps
IX Corps (ACW)
IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...
by Brig. Gen. Robert B. Potter, the division commander.
Pleasants was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
as a brigadier general on March 13, 1865. The citation brevetting him specifically mentions his service at Petersburg—it was not his fault that other officers bungled the opportunity.
Pleasants returned to Pottsville after mustering out of the army in 1865 and resumed his role as a mining engineer for the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, rising to the positions of Chief Engineer and then Superintendent.
Pleasants died at the age of 47 and was buried in the Charles Baber Cemetery in Pottsville.
Fictional appearance (The Guns of the South)
In Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel, The Guns of the SouthThe Guns of the South
The Guns of the South is an alternate history novel set during the American Civil War by Harry Turtledove.The story deals with a group of time-travelling Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging members who supply Robert E...
, Pleasants was captured by the Confederate forces and, after the end of hostilities, decided to remain in the Confederacy; eventually enlisting in the Confederate Army after the Rivington men attempt to overthrow the government. When facing a seemingly impenetrable defensive position, he hears a fellow soldier jokingly suggest going under the Rivington men's fortified position and conceives a similar scheme as he did in real life, a scheme which is quickly accepted by his commanding general, Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
. This attempt is more successful than that at Petersburg, and a massive crater is created, allowing the Confederates to break the Rivington men's defenses.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals