|
|
Petersburg |
|
|
| | The Battle of Petersburg Main Page | Historian | Statistician | Scientist | Song | Credits | Civil War Battles Index | |
|
ó |
|
Where: Petersburg, Virginia When: The actual battle was from June 15-18, 1864. The siege was from June 15, 1864 - April 3, 1865.
Now that you know the basic facts about the Battle and Siege of Petersburg, I can now explain what happened, why it took place, and what the outcome was. Brief Description of Battle: In this battle, General Ulysses S. Grant took his men south across the James River. General Robert E. Lee 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. Petersburg was a railroad center. I 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. He also hoped to prevent General Lee from receiving their supplies by train. At Petersburg, Grant was confronted by General Beauregard and his small army of men, who battled him and held him off until General Lee came along. General Grant decided the only way to win this battle was to have a siege. Significance of Battle to the War: The Battle of Petersburg was one of the last battles of the Civil War. In this
battle, neither the North nor the South won. It was sort of like a tie. During the
Siege of Petersburg, General Grant weakened General Lee's army a great deal. Practically
every day, for nine months, General Grant was weakening General Lee, very slowly
but gradually. The Siege of Petersburg ended on April 3, and only six days later
on April 9, General Lee surrendered, ending the war. In this battle, neither the Union nor the Confederates won. The Union failed to take over Petersburg, which means that they didn't win. Although they didn't win, neither did the Confederates. They were greatly weakened during the Siege of Petersburg and therefore did not win the battle. Overall, the Union won the entire Civil War. The Battle and Siege of Petersburg contributed to these results by helping Lee realize that the South would lose, which led to his surrender. Although there was a war going on in the United States, it does not mean that the rest of the world was peaceful. In Asia at the time of the battle, Russia conquered Caucasus and Rukistan in the Caucasian War. In South America, the Paraguayan War was happening. In this war, Paraguay fought against Brazil, Uraguay, and Argentina. Europe was much happier and peaceful than Asia or South America at the moment. Lewis Carroll had just published Alice in Wonderland, and the Red Cross was founded in Switzerland. Florence also became the capital of Italy but only stayed the capital until 1870. Today the capital of Italy is Rome. Meanwhile, in Africa, the Africans were pleased because of the newly established Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery.
|
Who: The main general for
the North in this battle was General Ulysses S. Grant (gentleman in photo). General
Grant was never a good student in school but became a great general. He was also
an alcoholic. The main general for the South was General Robert E. Lee. General Lee
fought for the South but was against slavery. He fought for the South because he
couldn't fight against his home state of Virginia.
 |
|
Kamehameha Schools | 1887 Makuakäne St.| Honolulu, Hawai'i 96817 | Tel. (808) 523-6200 |
 |
|
© 2002 Kamehameha Schools. Statements of Privacy, Copyright, and Disclaimer. Site managed by Education Webmaster |