in the spring of 1864, elliott was in command of holcombe's legion. at that time, he was ordered to petersburg, virginia with his regiment. he took command of brigadier general nathan g. evans' old brigade in the army of northern virginia. he commanded his brigade at the battle of the wilderness. on may 24, 1864, elliott was promoted to brigadier general. on june 16, 1864, elliott's brigade counterattacked after a union army assault took some advanced confederate trenches in the petersburg defenses, establishing a salient in the confederate line. on july 30, 1864, elliott's brigade was defending the confederate line at elliott's salient near the spot the union army's mine blew, which precipitated the battle of the crater. elliott's brigade had nearly 700 soldiers killed or wounded in the explosion and ensuing battle. elliott was asleep in a "bombproof" near the line and awakened to find the destruction and chaos surrounding him. finding no troops nearby since he was close to the site of the explosion, he went to find his remaining men and organize a counterattack in line with a previous plan to deal with such a mine attack. after finding two of his regiments mainly intact, elliott led them forward, positioning them to defend against an assault and to counterattack. he then impatiently jumped on the parapet to lead his men in the attack. at this moment, elliott was seriously wounded in the chest and left arm.