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Introduction

Colonial Period

Revolution

Early Republic

War Between the States

Recent Era

District of Columbia

Historic Projects

Special Features: Interesting battlefield area and scene of the longest siege in the history of the United States; about 100 miles of well-preserved earthworks.

Contemporary Photograph of Union Pickets on Duty during the Siege of Petersburg.
(Photo by Signal Corps, U.S. Army)

THE military operations around Petersburg in 1864-65 were the culmination of Grant's overland campaign which began when he crossed the Rapidan May 4, 1864, and ended when he put his army over the James River and brought it before Petersburg in June.

The Petersburg National Military Park was created in 1926 and its development is gradually nearing completion. Nevertheless, it is rich in historic interest and scenic beauty. A large number of the forts and long lines of connecting earthworks created during the siege of June 15, 1864, to April 2, 1865, have been cleared. Roads have been constructed enabling sightseers to follow on the ground many of the important movements which eventually brought about the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9,1865.

The personalities of Grant and Lee dominate all the crowding events which the park commemorates, for here these two great figures of the war were pitted against each other during the entire siege of 10 months, Grant was seeking to extend his forces around the city and cut its lines of supply from the South; Lee was struggling to prevent the envelopment. At Petersburg the strategic and tactical abilities of each were put to the supreme test.

The long contest was preceded by a fight on June 9, 1864, in which the capture of the city was averted only by the heroic resistance of 125 old men and boys. It began in earnest on June 15, when Grant's leading corps arrived and assaulted the eastern defenses of the city. Fighting continued for 4 days. At the end of that time the Federals had captured the eastern line and the Confederates had taken up a shorter and stronger one nearer to the city. Grant then adopted siege methods on this portion of the front, while farther to the southwest he initiated the series of extensions of his left flank which, marked by a number of battles in the open field, eventually were to bring about the fall of Petersburg and Richmond.

The most spectacular and tragic event of the siege operations was the explosion, on July 30, 1864, of a huge Federal mine under Elliott's Salient, an important point in the Confederate line. On June 25 a tunnel was commenced behind the Federal lines and was excavated for a distance of 511 feet to a terminus beneath the Confederate fort, where, in branching galleries 8,000 pounds of gunpowder were planted. The explosion itself was a success, hurling high in the air and killing 278 soldiers of the garrison and creating an enormous breach in the line of Confederate earthworks. But the Federal assault which followed was poorly executed and resulted in a disastrous repulse, with a loss of 4,400 men.

In his persistent efforts to isolate Lee from the South, Grant succeeded in cutting one of his opponent's most important supply lines, the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, after 4 days of severe fighting, August 18 to 21, around Globe Tavern.

During the winter of 1864-65 the Confederate army in Petersburg found itself laboring under rapidly increasing difficulties. Everywhere its sources of supply were being seized by the Federals, and there were no more men to replace the losses or to strengthen the lines which constantly grew thinner as they were stretched westward to oppose Grant's extensions of his left flank around the city.

Late in March 1865 Lee, after a conference with Jefferson Davis, determined to attack the Federal right flank in the hope of severing Grant's army and cutting the railroad to its base of supplies at City Point, or, at least, of facilitating his own inevitable retirement from Petersburg. This bold stroke, the last great offensive effort of the Army of Northern Virginia, was delivered by Gordon's corps on March 25. In a dashing assault Fort Stedman and parts of the adjacent Federal lines were captured. But the resistance was too strong to be overcome and Gordon was compelled to withdraw.

Within the following week events of epoch-marking importance occurred around Petersburg. Grant countered Gordon's blow by sending Sheridan with a heavy force against Lee's extreme right flank, a dozen miles west of the city. Sheridan broke through the thin Confederate line at Five Forks on April 1 and cut the Southside Railroad, Lee's last avenue of supply from the South. On the night of the 2d the Confederates evacuated Petersburg and Richmond and retreated westward. Closely pursued by Grant, Lee was compelled to surrender the remnant of his army at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9.

The severity of the 10 months of fighting around Petersburg may be judged by the losses suffered by the belligerents in killed, wounded, and missing, which were approximately 42,000 for the Federals and 25,000 for the Confederates.

The region around Petersburg constitutes the largest single battlefield area in America. Scores of miles of the massive entrenchments, from the Appomattox River to Five Forks, still exist in a remarkable state of preservation, and following the creation of the military park many of them have been uncovered and made visible for the first time since nature spread over them her protecting mantle of trees and undergrowth. In addition to the defensive works themselves, at many points over the area are scattered such unusual features as military dams, grades, and bridge abutments of military railroads, listening galleries, unfinished mines, and the remains of cantonments. The area is also marked by many old houses, mills, and other buildings whose names figure in history. Measures are now in force to preserve these physical remains as tangible and eloquent evidences of one of the most important periods in our country's annals. Educators and students, writers and military men, will find a veritable laboratory of history here.

Although most renowned for its heroic part in the War Between the States, Petersburg, which gained the name, "The Cockade City", in the War of 1812, is rich in earlier history coming down from almost the beginning of colonial Virginia. First settled in 1633, only 26 years after the founding of Jamestown, it became the site of a frontier fort erected in 1645. It was a scene of fighting with the Indians, and from it various expeditions set forth to explore or colonize lands farther west. During the Revolution a battle between British forces under General Phillips and Benedict Arnold and a body of American militia commanded by Von Steuben was fought at Petersburg on April 25, 1781. Many other interesting events have transpired in and around the city, and remains and traditions which still exist are testimony of the fine old estates which flourished in that area. In 1917-18 Camp Lee, a large area just east of Petersburg, was used as a training ground for American troops. Much of this reservation is now included in the military park.

NEXT> Appomattox National Battlefield Site

Last Modified: Thurs, Nov 23 2000 10:00:00 pm PDT
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