Ventilation Shaft

Ventilation Shaft (HM4BD)

Location: Petersburg, VA 23803
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Country: United States of America
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N 37° 13.149', W 77° 22.587'

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Inscription
"Regular Army wiseacres said it was not feasible - that I could not carry the ventilation that distance without digging a hole to the surface? But I have succeeded."
- Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, 48th Pennsylvania July 23, 1864

The most serious problem that faced Lt. Col. Pleasants was getting fresh air to the men working in the tunnel. He came up with a solution commonly used in the Pennsylvania coal mines.

One hundred feet into the mine, Pleasants's men dug a vertical ventilation shaft - the remains of which are in front of you. They then placed an airtight canvas door across the mine opening and ran a wooden duct the length of the mine to the forward end of the chamber. The fire that burned continuously at the ventilation shaft drew stale air out of the mine; fresh air was drawn through the duct to the men working at the head of the tunnel.
Details
HM NumberHM4BD
Tags
Placed ByPetersburg National Battlefield - National Park Service - Dept. of the Interior
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, October 5th, 2014 at 3:40pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 289144 N 4121829
Decimal Degrees37.21915000, -77.37645000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 13.149', W 77° 22.587'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 13' 8.94" N, 77° 22' 35.22" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804, 434, 757
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 3445 Siege Rd, Petersburg VA 23803, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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