At Shenandoah presentation, history scholar will focus on miners' Civil War contributions
Jul. 25—SHENANDOAH — A military history scholar and husband of the greater Shenandoah area's flagbearer for Lithuanian-American heritage will be the featured presenter at the 6:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting of the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society at its Main and Cherry streets headquarters and museum.
Peter Skirmantas, a Cleveland, Ohio, native who holds a Ph.D. in military history from Ohio State University, will present "Anthracite Miners go to War," regarding the 48th Pennsylvania volunteer "Schuylkill" infantry regiment and its accomplishments beyond the Battle of the Crater during the Civil War, according to Andy Ulicny, society president.
Skirmantas is married to Shenandoah's well-known speaker and author Anne Chaikowsky La Voie, whom he met during Shenandoah's sesquicentennial celebration. He has regional roots and relatives who are buried in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights.
According to information from Skirmantas provided by Ulicny, many people know about the role of "the Schuylkill regiment," as the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry unit is often referred, due to "what is arguably the most spectacular single event of the Civil War: the destruction of a Confederate fort with one massive explosion outside Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864."
The 48th, according to Skirmantas, included experienced coal miners and was commanded by a mining engineer. They "excavated a tunnel under the rebel fort. There, they detonated tons of gunpowder, opening a huge gap — subsequently called 'The Crater' — in the Confederate lines.
"This should have led to a war-ending defeat for the Confederates, but due to unfortunate events beyond the control of the 48th, it did not," Skirmantas said.
The presentation, Skirmantas said, will include a discussion of the digging of the tunnel and the subsequent battle and will offer several lessons learned.
However, the tunnel and crater were not the only accomplishments of the 48th, Skirmantas said.
"In fact, digging the tunnel accounted for only six weeks of its three years of service," Skirmantas said. "Long before these events, the 48th was already considered to be an elite unit and deserves recognition accordingly. In all, the regiment took part in 20 battles, lost 35% of its men, earned three Medals of Honor and deserved more."
Skirmantas' presentation will be especially appropriate as it "will be given two days after the (159th) anniversary of the explosion and the events that followed" and will also "examine the legacy of the 48th before and beyond the Battle of the Crater."
Skirmantas' credentials also include a three-year teaching stint at Purdue University, followed by a post as a historian for the Air Force at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and later with the Department of Defense in Virginia.
He spent 33 years as a historian for the armed services, which gave him the opportunity to travel throughout the nation and beyond, including Crete, the Azores, Sicily and Turkey.
Skirmantas has also published more than 100 articles for in-house magazines of the Defense Department and myriad similar efforts in compiling data, writing and publishing plus teaching in various capacities at seven colleges and universities.
The public is welcome to attend the meeting; there is no admission fee.
