Central Virginia & the 1864 Campaign
Petersburg
"The key to taking Richmond is Petersburg." That's what General Grant believed when his forces began arriving at the eastern environs of the city in mid-June 1864. It was the four railroad lines and key roadways that made Petersburg importang. If these could be cut, then the city could no longer provide Richmond with much-needed supplies, equipment, and subsistence. Many believed that if Richmond fell, the war would be over. Others, however, like Grant, knew that only when Lee's army was eliminated would the war come to an end.
In a grim 10-month struggle--the longest siege in American warfare--Grant's army gradually but relentlessly encircled Petersburg and cut Lee's supply lines from the south. For the Confederates it was 10 months of desperately hanging on, hoping the people of the North would tire of the war. For soldiers of both armies it was 10 months of rifle bullets, artillery, and mortar shells, relieved only by rear-area tedium: drill and more drill, salt pork and corn meal, burned beans and bad coffee.
Confederate Battery 5 was one of the strongest works on the original Confederate defense line (the Dimmock Line). Union troops captured it on June 15, 1864.
Although Grant's first attempts to capture Petersburg from the east on June 15 - 18 failed miserably and cost him 10,000 men, his soldiers did manage to cut two of the railroads leading into the city and gain control of several roads. In August he struck out to the sough and west against the Weldon Railroad. After 3 days of fierce fighting in brutal heat, Union troops were astride the iron rails near Globe Tavern. Several days later, on August 25, Lee's Confederates scored a minor victory at Ream's Station, 5 miles south of Globe Tavern, but failed to break the Federal hold on the railroad.
By October, Grant had moved 3 miles west of the Weldon Railroad and the noose around Petersburg tightened. The approach of winter brought a general halt to activities. Still there was the everyday skirmishing, sniper fire, and mortar shelling. By early February 1865, Lee had only 60,000 cold and hungry soldiers in the trenches to oppose Grant's well-equipped force of 110,000. On February 5-7, Grant extended his lines westward to Hatcher's Run and forced Lee to lengthen his own thinly stretched defenses. Federal supplies rattled continuously over the newly completed U.S. Military Railroad from City Point to the front.
By mid-March it was apparent to Lee that Grant's superior force would either get around the Confederate right flank or pierce the line somewhere along its 37-mile length. The Southern commander hoped to break the Union stranglehold on Petersburg by attacking Grant at Fort Stedman. Plans were to breach the Union line, hold the gap, and gain access to Grant's military railroad a short distance beyond. If it worked, Grant might have to relinquish positions to the west, and Lee could shorten his own lines. On March 25, Confederates overpowered Fort Stedman only to be crushed by a Union counterattack.
With victory near, Grant unleashed Gen. Philip H. Sheridan at Five Forks on April 1. His objective: the Southside Railroad. Sheridan smashed the Confederate forces under George Pickett and gained access to the tracks beyond. On April 2, Grant ordered an all-out assault, and Lee's right flank crumbled. A Homeric defense at Confederate Fort Gregg saved Lee from possible street fighting in Petersburg. On the night of April 2, Lee evacuated Petersburg. Appomattox Court House, the site of the final surrender, was but a week away.
"The Dictator": a huge mortar used by the Union army to shell Petersburg.
All text was obtained from the pamphlet
"Petersburg: Official Map and Guide"
published by the National Park Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior
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