In the summer of 1864, Union forces devised an ingenious plan to blow up the Confederate fort at Petersburg by tunneling beneath it. Four tons of explosive blasted a crater 60 by 170 feet and 30 feet deep. One whole Confederate regiment and and artillery battery were burried. West Pointer E.G. Marshall led the Union assault after the explosion. But the backup to his brave assault was mismanaged by Gen. James H. Ledlie, who stayed behind drinking rum. Marshall and his troups were trapped by the Confederates, who managed to regroup, and were forced to find refuge in the crater. It proved to be no shelter and Marshall was captured. The Confederate officer who captured him took his hat, coat and valuables. Marshall asked to be taken to General Lee, who immediately recognized the great enemy commander and soundly scolded the officer who had robbed him. Marshall later received a high brevet commission, but the battle at the crater was a Union fiasco.
Bvt. Major General Elisha Gaylord Marshall (1829-1883) is surmounted by a carved marble sheaf of wheat symbolizing God's harvest. To date, the gravestones of 8 Civil War generals of the Union Army and 5 generals of the New York State Militia, who fought in the Civil War, have been located at Mount Hope Cemetary.

(exerpts from Mount Hope by Richard O. Reisem)