![]() The Union Second, Ninth, and Fifth Corps attack but are repulsed with heavy casualties. That night, Beauregard digs a new line of defense closer to Petersburg that meets up with the Dimmock Line at Battery 25, and Lee rushes reinforcements from other elements of the Army of Northern Virginia. The Union Ninth Corps gains more ground, but the fight is poorly coordinated. The Confederates lose Batteries 12 through 14. ![]() The Union Second Corps capture another section of the Confederate line. Colored Troops, later notes in his report that the “officers and men behaved in such a manner as to give me great satisfaction and the fullest confidence in the fighting qualities of colored troops.” After dark, Smith, joined at last by Hancock, decides to postpone further offensive action until dawn. Colonel Joseph Kiddoo, commanding the Twenty-second U.S. Batteries 6 through 11 are captured by U.S. Federal troops gain the rear of Battery 5, throwing the defenders from the Twenty-sixth Virginia and a single battery of artillery into a panic. Once under way, the Union attack proves anti-climactic. Smith delays his assault until 7:00 p.m., expecting the momentary arrival of Gen. "Baldy" Smith cautiously leads his Eighteenth Corps westward from City Point. For the next nine months, Grant focused on severing Petersburg’s many wagon and rail connections to the south and west. He eventually attacked and crippled Lee’s forces, forcing the South to surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. The late appearance of Lee’s men ended the Federals’ hopes of taking the city by storm and ensured a lengthy siege. Lee to either evacuate Richmond or fight the numerically superior Grant on open ground.įrom June 15–18, 1864, Confederate general Beauregard and his troops, though outnumbered by the Federals, saved Petersburg from Union capture. Capturing this important transportation hub would isolate the Confederate capital and force Gen. The city of Petersburg, 24 miles south of Richmond, was the junction point of five railroads that supplied the entire upper James River region. Lee's army in the field to eliminating the supply and communication routes to the Confederate capital at Richmond. His strategic goals shifted from the defeat of Robert E. Grant’s inability to capture Richmond or destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Overland Campaign (May 4–June 12, 1864) caused him to cast his glance toward the critical southern city of Petersburg. How it endedĪlthough the Confederates held off the Federals in the Battle of Petersburg, Grant implemented a siege of the city that lasted for 292 days and ultimately cost the South the war. Lee’s armies at Petersburg failed to capture the Confederacy’s vital supply center and resulted in the longest siege in American warfare. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaigns.Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields – Your Gift Tripled!.Preserve 128 Sacred Acres at Antietam and Shepherdstown.For Sale: Three Battlefield Tracts Spanning Three Wars.An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield.Phase Three of Gaines’ Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign. ![]()
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