Trivia #29 Crater (7/29/2014)

[Trivia Master]

Tonight's Civil War Trivia Question Value: 10 points.
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This question will be open until Thursday at about 9:30am EDT
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At the Battle of the Crater, how many Confederate soldiers were killed in the initial explosion?
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Post your answers BELOW. Good Luck!
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[adisciu9]

278 confederates

 

[Eagle eye]

278

 

[Bob Owen]

278

 

[ErnieMac]

278.

 

[BrrrBRRRR]

278

 

[Stony]

278

 

[chellers]

278

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh/13/hh13f.htm

 

[AUG]

278 men from the 18th and 22d South Carolina regiments, and Pegram's Battery.

 

[csb1971]

278

 

[DickWilliams]

278

 

[truthckr]

278

 

[Littlestown]

1. 278 "The explosion immediately killed 278 Confederate soldiers" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater
2. 352 "A total of 352 Confederates were killed by the blast." http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/the-crater.html?tab=facts
3. The explosion had killed one-third of the South Carolina brigade defending the strongpoint http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/the-battle-of-the-crater/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
4. 278 "the charge detonated killing at least 278 Confederate soldiers" http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/crater.htm
5. 278 "Of the 300 South Carolina troops manning the trenches directly above the mine gallery and the 30 gunners serving in Captain Richard Pegram's four gun battery, 278 were killed or wounded in the explosion." http://www.craterroad.com/craterbattle.html
The consensus of opinion among sources is 278.

 

[drezac]

When the mine that was dug under the confederate lines was exploded, 352 were killed by the initial blast

Edit - Littlestown supplied a source that supports this answer, so I will give credit for it.

Hoosier

 

[Nathanb1]

278

 

[LZRD WZRD]

278

 

[godofredus]

Wiki says "the explosion immediately killed 278 Confederate soldiers."

 

[Copperhead-mi]

According to the NPS "[a]t least 278 Confederate troops were killed or wounded in the tremendous blast, and 2 of the 4 guns in the battery were destroyed beyond repair."

"In all, 278 men were lost in the explosion itself."
The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History, by John F. Schmutz

 

[FarawayFriend]

"At least 278 Confederates were killed"
From:
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/crater.htm
and:
http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Crater_Battle_of_the#start_entry

 

[Karlos63]

278