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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
Petersburg National BattlefieldPeriod drawing of artillery being fired at siege of Petersbrug
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Petersburg National Battlefield
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Fort Sedgwick

Earthworks

Earthworks is a general term used to describe trenches and fortifications of earth, sandbags and logs. This is where many soldiers, both Union and Confederate lived during their nine-and-a-half months of fighting at Petersburg.
Charles Dimmock, Architect of the Petersburg defense line.  

Did You Know?
From the summer of 1862 until the spring of 1863, Confederate Captain Charles Dimmock appealed to slaveholders to hire their enslaved people, and also hired free black laborers to dig the ten-mile defense line around the City of Petersburg. The defenses became known as the Dimmock Line.

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Last Updated: December 19, 2007 at 16:37 EST