Sunday, August 7

….The Rebs. are still raiding around up in Maryland and Pa. Grant blew up a fortification in front of Petersburg last Saturday (a week) &, but for the bungling way it which it was done, the result might have been glorious. As it was, it was a failure. The engineer had a powder fuse which went out twice, and delayed the blowing up an and a half. Who would have supposed, in these days of galvanic batteries & copper wire, that anyone would have been so behind the age as to depend on a powder fuse put in a wooden box, when a sure thing could have been made of it at any instant with a galvanic battery & wire! I wish I had been down there to advise! But the thing is over – we were defeated, & all I hope is “better luck next time” – or, at least more science next time!….

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