A Very Brief Look At The Battle Of Petersburg

The battle of Petersburg was a long and devastating battle whose outcome signaled the death toll for the Confederate Army. The railroads that ran through Petersburg were the locomotion that shipped many of the supplies that General Lee and his troops needed to Richmond, the ‘capital’ of the south, thus “General Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines ensuring the fall of Richmond…” (National Park Service). The fall of Richmond was a critical and final blow to General Lee and the confederate army.
General Ulysses S. Grant was upset with the Union army’s inability to capture Richmond, therefore he placed his sights on the next best thing, Petersburg. General Grant knew that “capturing this important transportation hub would …show more content…
The 18th corps, under General Smith, were the first to march onto the field against the confederate soldiers. General Smith did not know that the base was so under protected therefore he decided to approach cautiously. The 18th corps managed to defeat and capture many of confederate General Beauregard, a Union soldier commented that ““Our forces have taken several works and lines of rifle pits, which we passed on the way, all very strongly made, also captured 14 guns.”” (Finelli). General Smith, however, feared that confederate army had more men hiding out in Petersburg so he held his position and waited for reinforcement. Three days that passed while Smith was waiting allowed General Robert E. Lee and most of his army to arrive to lend more soldiers to the confederate’s side, however, union soldiers still outnumbered the confederate soldiers by 20,000, the Union had 62,000 soldiers, and the Confederacy had 42,000 soldiers at Petersburg. Attacks and more reinforcements, for both sides, continued to occur. For nine and a half months, cannon and gun fire were regular sounds for …show more content…
The car drive up to Petersburg was long and a little boring, but it was worth it to me. My family and I made a day of it. I like history, I like to see where and how things came to be as they are today. I find it so interesting to see where history has taken place, to imagine the soldiers charging and fighting. When I closed my eyes I could imagine how it would have been during the battle. I could hear the cannons and guns firing, the yells of pain and anguish. I could see the generals barking our orders, the men reloading their guns while their brothers in arms fall around them, the cannon balls exploding, destroying man and nature alike, the fire of the gun as one man watches another die. It amazes me that all of those things that I imagined could have happened at the exact same moment, in the exact same place that I was standing only a mere 152-153 years ago, that I could have walked the same path as men like Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. It made me wonder if those soldiers that gave their lives for what they believed in were alive today and could see the changes that have occurred, what they would think if they would still be proud of their sacrifices, still think that it was worth it. I marveled at the strength, physical and of will, which the soldiers on both sides possessed. The physical strength that it would take to move and load some of the cannons that were at the battlefield is astonishing. The strength of will that it