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Siege of Petersburg

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The Seige of Petersburg...by Marc Schulman

Once Lee's army had arrived at Petersburg, both armies dug in for a long term siege. This was a siege that Lee knew he could not win, but he had no choice but to participate in. If Petersburg fell, Richmond was doomed. The Union forces had all the advantages in the siege. Its forces were well supplied both in armaments, food and clothing. The Union Engineers ran a railroad right behind the Union trenches. Regular passenger and freight trains supplied the Union troops regularly. At the same time Confederate troops were going hungry and were suffering a shortage in ammunition. Lee wrote at one point "If some change is not made and the commissary department reorganized I apprehend dire results. The physical strength of the men, if their courage survives must fail under this treatment."

Union and Confederates shelled each other daily. Each side suffered casualties, but the Union casualties were replaceable, the confederates had reached the absolute bottom of the manpower pool.

There were a number of attempts to break the stalemate. The most well known was the action to break through the lines by building a tunnel under the confederate fortifications and set off a very large charge. A division of black troops had been trained to exploit the explosion, but at the last moment they were replaced by a white division, who were not prepared for the task. The explosion created a great hole in the confederate lines, but the uncoordinated attack that followed achieved nothing but 4,000 Union casualties. As Grant wrote Halleck: "It was the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war. Such opportunity for carrying fortifications I have never seen and do not expect again to have."

While the siege was taking place the confederates suffered a severe reversal of fortunes in the Shenandoah Valley. At the end of July Jubal Early led a confederate army out down the Valley. He had crossed the Potomac and on July 11th reached the outskirts of Washington which was defended initially by clerks and other non-combatants. In the nick of time elements of the Six Army Corps arrived in Washington, and Early decided to retreat. That was the high point, Grant then appointed Phil Sheridan to command Union forces in the Valley. He went ahead and recaptured the valley. He decisively defeated Early's forces in three battle, including the Third Battle of Winchester. Early's forces ceased being an effective unit. As Sheridan pulled out of the valley he stripped it clean of all food, farm animals and anything else that might be helpful to the confederacy.

Lee's army was steadily dwindling, every day more and more confederate soldiers deserted. By the end of March the end was in sight, Sherman was advancing through South Carolina and would soon reach Virginia, coming up with his army on Lee's south. Thus, Lee knew that he would have to give up Petersburg or be annihilated. To accomplish this he attempted an attack on Fort Stedman. Lees' troops seized it, but in the ensuing counterattack Union forces recaptured it as well as some of the confederate fortifications. Lee lost 5,000 men and his lines were now so thin they could not hold for long.

Grant ordered Sheridan to turn the Confederate flank south of Petersburg. In the ensuing battle called Five Folks Union troops won a decisive victory when half the Confederate forces surrendered. Grant then ordered an assault all along the lines for the next morning- the 2nd of April. The assault succeeded and the confederates were forced to pull out of Petersburg, as well as Richmond.