Synopsis "The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Siege of Petersburg"
*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the campaign written by various generals and soldiers on both sides *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible." - President Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant, August 1864 After the last major pitched battle of the Overland Campaign was fought at Cold Harbor in early June, Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac had suffered more casualties during the campaign than Robert E. Lee had in his entire Army of Northern Virginia at the start of May. Understandably, the American public was shocked by the carnage, and to this day Grant has been accused of being a butcher, but attrition had become a vital war aim for the North, and Grant remained undeterred. Refusing to attack Lee in frontal assaults, and aware that Lee dared not venture out to counterattack, Grant nearly captured Richmond in mid-June by stealing a march on Lee's army and crossing the James River. The fog of war, poor luck, and a skillful impromptu defense by P.G.T. Beauregard stopped Grant from taking Petersburg, which was a critical railroad hub and supply line for Richmond, before Lee's army could confront, thereby saving the Confederacy for the time being. The two armies began to dig in around Petersburg, and unbeknownst to them they would be there for the next 9 months, constructing elaborate trenches and engaging in the kind of warfare that would be the forerunner of World War I. Both sides engaged in innovative and unique attempts at mining underneath the enemy's siege lines, as well as countermining, which led to the famous Battle of the Crater that turned an ingenious engineering feat into a Union debacle. Lee's attempts to break the siege by threatening Washington and trying to fight Grant's army proved just as futile. Though the North couldn't have known it at the time, the siege of Petersburg was the beginning of the end. Grant would pin Lee's army down around that vital railroad hub for nearly 10 months, slowly extending the siege lines and overstretching the Confederates before finally breaking their line in early April. That would send Lee on the retreat that would bring the armies to Appomattox a week later. The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Siege of Petersburg comprehensively covers the campaign and the events that led up to the crucial battles, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the campaign. Accounts of the fighting by important participants are also included, along with maps and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the Siege of Petersburg like you never have before, in no time at all.
