Nine and a half months, 70,000 casualties, the suffering of civilians, thousands of U. S. Colored Troops fighting for the freedom of their race, and the decline of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of No. Virginia all describe the Siege of Petersburg. It was here Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines ensuring the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865. Six days later, Lee surrendered.

The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 15, 1864, to April 2, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, 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 Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.

Lee finally gave in to the pressure and abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I, earning it a prominent position in military history. It also featured the war’s largest concentration of African-American troops, who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffin’s Farm.

The Battle of the Crater

The Battle of the Crater took place on July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (under the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant).

After weeks of preparation, on July 30 Union forces exploded a mine in Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s IX Corps sector, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia. From that propitious beginning, the situation deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers as unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where the unprepared soldiers milled around in confusion. Grant considered this failed assault as “the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war.”

The Confederates quickly recovered, and launched several counterattacks led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The breach was sealed off, and the Union forces were repulsed with severe casualties, while Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero’s division of black soldiers were badly mauled.

It may have been Grant’s best chance to end the Siege of Petersburg; instead, the soldiers settled in for another eight months of trench warfare.

Burnside was relieved of command for the final time for his role in the fiasco, and he was never again returned to command, and to make matters worse, Ferrero and General James H. Ledlie were observed behind the lines in a bunker, drinking liquor throughout the battle.

Source: Wikipedia

This image shows the extent of the trench warfare around Petersburg :

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These photos were taken on the Eastern Front.

Drawing By Alfred Waud – Public Domain use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5540672