Term: Petersburg, Siege of
Definition:
Date(s): June 9, 1864-April 2, 1865
Location: Petersburg, Virginia (Google Map)
Other name(s): see individual engagements (below)
Campaign: Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-April 1865)
Outcome: Union victory
Summary
The 10-month Union siege of Petersburg, Virginia, led to the surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, effectively ending the war.
In June 1864, as Union forces closed in on the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, attempts were made to take Petersburg, Virginia, a railroad hub 20 miles south of Richmond. After two unsuccessful assaults, the Union attempted a third attack on June 9. A small force attacked Petersburg but was repulsed by the Confederates. A week later 60,000 Union troops again tried, but were held back by only 38,000 Confederates. Union commanders then decided to settle in for a siege.
Each side dug a maze of deep trenches outside Petersburg. A soldier raising his head above ground level was likely to be shot by an enemy sniper. The stalemate dragged on for nearly a year as residents in Petersburg and Richmond were reduced to poverty.
The final battle for Petersburg took place on April 2, 1865, when 63,000 Union troops drove 19,000 Confederates from the city at nightfall. A few days later, Richmond also fell and its top government and military leaders fled toward the west.
Wisconsin’s Role
The 5th, 6th, 7th, 19th, 36th, 37th, and 38th Wisconsin Infantry regiments took part in the climactic assault on Petersburg on April 2, 1865. They also participated in these notable engagements during the siege: Weldon Railroad (August 18, 1864), Reams Station (August 25, 1864), Hatcher's Run (February 5-7, 1865), and Five Forks (April 1, 1865).
Union troops set off a tremendous mine on July 30, 1864, to break the Confederate lines. Among the soldiers charging into the resulting crater were Co.K, 37th Wisconsin Infantry (composed partly of Menominee Indians) and Wisconsin's only black unit, Co. F, 29th U.S. Colored Troops. Delayed by bungling commanders, they were trapped in the crater, exposed to crossfire from Confederate soldiers, and cut down mercilessly. Of the 250 men from the 37th Infantry, 155 were killed or wounded. Among the dead were Menominee Corporal Hahpahtow Archiquette and privates Kenosha, Jeco, Nahwahquah, Nashahkahappah, and Wahtahnotte. Of the 85 African Americans in Co. F, 11 lost their lives in the day's action.
Learn more
E.B. Quiner summarizes the siege and its various engagements on pages 290-306 of his book, The Military History of Wisconsin (Madison, 1866).
Wisconsin's 5th, 6th, 7th, 19th, 36th, 37th, and 38th infantry regiments took part in the climactic assault on Petersburg on April 2, 1865. Their contributions are recounted by Quiner on pages 301-305. He describes the activities of the Iron Brigade regiments on pages 473-481 and gives details about the other units’ experiences in the regimental history chapters of his book.
View battle maps
View related images
View original documents about the following engagements:
Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864
Weldon Railroad, August 18, 1864
Reams Station, August 25, 1864
Hatcher's Run, February 5-7, 1865
Five Forks on April 1, 1865
[Source: Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields (Washington, 1993); Estabrook, C. Records and Sketches of Military Organizations (Madison, 1914); Love, W. Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion (Madison, 1866).]
