The Battle of Petersburg was one of the last battles in the civil war. It all
started when General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army wanted to take over Petersburg
city to gain control over the Confederates shipping/goods supply. General Ulysses
S. Grant took his men south across the James River. General Robert E. Lee, (photographed
at left,) however, was unaware of Grant's movements. Grant and his men built a pontoon
bridge more than 2,000 feet long to cross the river. Grant then took his men across
the bridge and they marched on to Petersburg. Most railroad tracks went through Petersburg,
Virginia, in which all trains would pass through, carrying goods for the Confederate
Army. It was connected by railroad to the capital of the Confederates, Richmond,
Virginia. At Petersburg, Grant hoped to stop all the trains from going to Richmond
and the rest of the South. If General Grant could take control over Petersburg, he
could defeat the Confederate army by starving them out.
At Petersburg, Grant was confronted by General Beauregard of the Confederate Army
and his small band of men, who battled the Union and held them off until General
Robert E. Lee came along.
When General Lee of the Confederate Army becomes weary on the decision of staying
in Petersburg, he turns south and starts to escape. His original plan was to head
south, swoop around the Union, and trap them from within Petersburg. However the
Union followed the Confederacy to the south, managed to intercept their army, and
obstruct their path of swooping around the Union. Neither of the two opposing sides
took the victory for this battle.
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