Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg
Part of the American Civil War
The Third Battle of Petersburg. Published by Currier & Ives, c. 1865
Date June 9, 1864 – March 25, 1865 (9 months, 2 weeks and 2 days) Location Petersburg, Virginia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Benjamin F. Butler	Robert E. Lee P. G. T. Beauregard
Units involved
Army of the Potomac Army of the James	Army of Northern Virginia Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia
Strength
67,000–125,000	∼ 52,000
Casualties and losses
42,000[1] (estimate)	28,000[1] (estimate)

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865.^[2] Fought during the American Civil War, it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg. But it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off. Nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully. Then the Union Army constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 50 miles (80 km). They ran from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was critical to the supply of Confederate Lieutenant General Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the railroad supply lines through Petersburg to Richmond. Many of these caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources.

Lee finally gave in to the pressure and abandoned both cities on April 3, 1865.^[3] This led to Lee's final surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.^[3] The trench warfare of Petersburg became common in World War I, earning it a prominent position in military history.^[2] Of the 4,000 African American troops of the 4th Division, IX Corps, who fought at the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864, over half were killed, wounded or captured.^[4]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Chris Calkins. "Petersburg". Civil War Trust. Archived from the original on July 11, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Battle of Petersburg". HistoryNet. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "10 Facts about the Petersburg Campaign". Civil War Trust. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
4. ↑ William Forstchen; Newt Gingrich (24 April 2014). "At Battle of the Crater, black troops prove their courage". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)