The Petersburg Campaign: June 1864-April 1865

Great Campaigns

by John Horn

This title covers the series of battles leading up to the inevitable siege of Petersburg, including Drewry''s Bluff, Globe Tavern and Fort Harrison, and the siege itself, with its incessant trench warfare and and fighting along the James River.

The loss in April 1865 of the railroad center at Petersburg, just south of Richmond, sealed the doom of the Confederacy. The campaign for Petersburg was a long siege operation of grueling trench warfare marked by bloody battles, incompetence, political " maneuvering and cowardice, It was the type of campaign that both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant had originally wanted to avoid. This dramatic narrative is supplemented by special charts covering strengths and losses for both sides, Confederate desertion rates, and statistics for the Civil War's other sieges. Sidebars discuss styles of command, the famous Crater explosion; the role of snipers and sharpshooters, and the campaign's no-quarter encounters between Southern whites and Union men of color.

Genres: Civil War, History, Civil War History

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 1993

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a hard time rating this one. He has clearly done the work on what happened day-by-day for the entire siege. But, dang, it sure isn't interesting to read. Basically, he tells you that this unit of this Brigade of this Corps moved to the "road" while this other unit of some other Brigade of somebody else's Corps moved to this other place, ad infinitum. Even though he has some maps, they are unreadable and of little use. Not bad as a reference book. Giving it 2 Stars

Here is his recommendation for a tour of the battlefield. It is definitely worth the visit.

Touring Petersburg National Battlefield Park

A proper tour of this park should proceed from east to west, a course which generally follows the progress of the fighting.

From Parker’s Battery on Bermuda Hundred, go to Route 10 and turn right. Proceed across the Appomattox River to Appomattox Street in Hopewell. Turn left on Appomattox Street, left again at Cedar Lane, and then right at Pecan Avenue to get to the City Point Unit of the park. This unit preserves the site of the Union supply base and Grant's headquarters.
Return to Route 10. Proceed directly across to West Broadway. Take this road to Route 36. Turn left on to Route 36 and proceed to the Visitor Center of the main unit of Petersburg National Battlefield Park. A walking trail leads to Battery 5 of the original Confederate defense line and the site where the “Dictator,” a huge Union mortar, was located.

There is also a four-mile driving tour of the unit. This tour first goes past Battery 8 of the original Confederate defense line. This Battery was seized by United States Colored Troops on 15 June, 1864. Reversed and renamed Fort Friend by the Federals, it figured in the repulse of the Confederate attack on Fort Stedman on 25 March 1865.

Beyond is Battery 9 of the original Confederate defense line. United States Colored Troops captured this Battery on June 15, 1864.

Next comes the Harrison Creek line. The Confederates dug in along this stream on the night of 15 June 1864 after the Federals stormed the Dimmock line The Southerners held this line for two days before retreating to the line they held until the end of the siege.

Farther along is Fort Stedman, the focus of the Confederate attack on 25 March 1865. A walking trail leads to Colquitt’s Salient, where the Southern attack originated.

The driving tour proceeds next to Fort Haskell, south of Fort Stedman. Fort Haskell withstood the Confederate onslaught on 25 March 1865.

Beyond Fort Haskell is the Taylor Farm Site. Nearly 200 pieces of Federal artillery were concentrated along the ridge here for fire support during the battle of the Crater.

Next comes The Crater itself, the site of the abortive Union attack on 30 July 1864. A walking trail leads to points of interest around this site.

The driving tour exits the main unit of the park on to U. S. 301/460 (Crater Road). Turn left and proceed to the Flank Road, which follows the Union siege lines. Turn right on to the Flank Road and follow it to the Halifax Road (604), which along the old bed of the Weldon Railroad. Immediately of the Halifax Road is the Fort Wadsworth unit of the Fort Wadsworth was built by the Federals in late August and early September of 1864 to hold the Weldon Railroad.

Follow the Halifax Road south to Reams Station, where fighting took place on 29 June 1864 and 25 August 1864. There the Conservation Fund has recently acquired about 200 acres of the battlefield.

Returning to Fort Wadsworth, take 676 left to the Fort Keene unit of the park. Fort Keene was built in October of 1864 to hold the Federal gains of late September and early October.

676 leads west from Fort Keene to another unit of the park that begins at the Squirrel Level Road (613). Just west of this road is Fort Urmston. Like Fort Keene, Fort Urmston was built to protect the Northern gains of late September and early October, 1864. Beyond and to the left of Fort Urmston, a path leads to Fort Wheaton, formerly the Confederate Fort Archer captured 30 September 1864. Farther on is Fort Conahey, built to hold the Union gains of late September and early October, 1864. Just short of the Church Road (672) is Fort Fisher, completed by the Federals in March of 1865. West of the Church Road, a path leads to Fort Welch. The Federal VI Corps launched its successful assault of 2 April 1865 from between Forts Fisher and Welch. Farther along the path is the Union Fort Gregg.

Returning to the Church Road, take it north to 142 and turn right to go to the Confederate Fort Gregg. Here several hundred Southerners held off two Union divisions for two hours on the afternoon of 2 April 1865.

Go back to 142. Take it to the Church Road and bear right to Route 1, the Boydton Plank Road. Follow Route 1 to the Duncan Road (670) and turn left. As you proceed south on the Duncan Road, you will pass Tudor Hall, one of Dinwiddie County’s most beautiful old houses, and acreage on which the 2 April breakthrough took place. The house and the acreage have been developed as Pamplin Civil War Park. After crossing Hatcher’s Run at Armstrong’s Mill, turn right on 613 and follow it by 50 acres recently acquired by the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites t~ the 6 February 1865 battlefield.

Proceed under Interstate 85 to the Boydton Plank Road. Turn right and drive to the White Oak Road (613). Make a left turn on to the White Oak Road. At its junction with Claiborne Road (631) are 30 acres recently acquired by the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. On this acreage are some earthworks of the extreme right of the Confederate siege lines, near where the battle of the White Oak Road took place on March 31, 1865.

The White Oak Road intersects with the Dinwiddie Courthouse Road (627) and Scott’s Road (645) at Five Forks, where the famous battle of 1 April 1865 occurred. The Conservation Fund recently acquired about 1100 acres of this battlefield and then donated the acreage to Petersburg National Battlefield Park.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a century and a half, The Petersburg Campaign has been vastly neglected by the historians of the war. Why the most decisive Union victory of the war (surpassing even Gettysburg in importance) has been so understudied, even to this day? The reason lay maybe in the aspect itself of the campaign, with an hybrid form of warfare halfway through the traditional pitched battles, and the static trench warfare of the next century.
So John Horn's brief book is especially valuable for being one of the few complete overview of the campaign from the beginning in mid 64 to the evacuation the next year.

Despite being only 250 page-long, the different offensives and the surrounding events influencing Petersburg itself are very detailed... Maybe too detailed, with each battle very densely described. Considering the choice to provide the reader with an almost blow-by-blow account of units movements, the lack of map (there's only two or three very general maps in the whole book) is unforgivable.
I'd also complain about the lack of emphasis on the life outside the major battles. Trench warfare is only very briefly covered, and Petersburg and its civilians are not mentioned. Actually, there's not even a mention of the Yankee bombarding the town (or it was so brief that I forgot), even though they did it on a regular basis. Were the civilian allowed to leave? How many died due to Union shelling? "The Petersburg Campaign" never hide the fact that it's a military history book above all, but a small chapter about that would not have feel out of place.

However, besides my complaints, the book has many positive point that prevents it from falling in the "dry and lifeless military history book" category. First, the writing is actually quite good. Without being a Catton, John Horn is absolutely not a dry author. When he's not busy explaining us that X rgt of Y brigade of Z division is walking on A Plank Road in order to reach B Courthouse before C rgt of D brigade of E division etc. the narrative is easy to follow.
Also of great importance : John Horn never fails to bring us the "big picture" : apparently unrelated events are shown to be actually linked to each other. Moreover, his analysis of the tactical and strategical movements are more often than not quite sounds.

Anyway, The Petersburg Campaign is a great overview of the forgotten bloody campaign (in term of casualties, the Petersburg-Richmond campaign is only second to the Overland campaign). Sometimes confusing, mainly due to the lack of map, it's nonetheless a great addition in the book shelf of anyone interested in knowing more about the nine months that sealed the faith of the Confederacy.

3.5/5

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the campaign. Horn is a solid writer.

[Avis Black]

The Petersburg Campaign is the weakest book on this campaign that I've read. Unfortunately, Petersburg is really lacking in good books.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

read 2007