I will give an abbreviated version of the bios we have in the programs. Tracy is a native of appomattox. He has worked for the National Park service. He has been at Petersburg National battlefield since 1997. He is the author of one of the volumes and the howard, virginia regimental history series. He is also passed president of the lynchburg civil war roundtable. And the appomattox county historical society. His talk today will be on the fall of petersburg. Please welcome Tracy Chernault. [applause] Tracy Chernault good evening. Im a big baseball guy. When he asked me to speak as the leadoff man, that was a first for me. Most of you can tell by my size, i never hit leadoff because i require somebody speeding. Being the leadoff man is something new for me. I was surprised when pat pointed out that the magazine contains his article, because you get to this article, you have to read through my article. Which i think should have been the end of the magazine. [laughter] please pick up one of those and read my article. It is always a pleasure to speak about petersburg, because most of you in this room having heard stories of petersburg, probably never delved into it. When i was at appomattox courthouse, my boss at the time, who promises to heckle me later, asked me if i was crazy. He said that it was the most unimportant story in all of the civil war. I asked myself, what have i gotten myself into . I promised my wife we would do the civil war in reverse. We which are verse we would traverse and retire. When we moved to petersburg and i begin delving into the story i realized there was more to it then ron knew. I have not tired of it yet. The odds of me getting to charleston by the end of my career, is probably slim to none. The petersburg story needs a set up before we get to the fall of petersburg. On the 11th day of may in 1864 ulysses s. Grant has squared off against property lee robert e lee. Grant has made it his mission to destroy the army of northern virginia. On may 11, he is going to send a message to washington, i on the city of petersburg. Now petersburg is truly a magnificent gem of the city. You are talking about a city that grew up on the line of the appomattox river. At its heart is industry harnessing that waterpower. The people of petersburg live a cosmopolitan lifestyle. They have Running Water in the downtown area. They have a gas works. The streets are lit by gas lighting. The houses have gas lights inside. Petersburg, the city of 18,000 people, is truly a magnificent city. If you read accounts of petersburg prior to the war, you are going to see it referred to as a northern city. Because of all the industry that reminded people of some of the great Manufacturing Centers that you find up north. Petersburg, being a manufacturing city, also has developed a system of transportation to get goods and materials from there. First and foremost, the english settlers got there by boat. They find themselves at that little town that they had established and created and to such a mecca of manufacturing. Eventually, they are going to need to improve the roads for the farmers to get goods and materials into the factories. They have set up a network of plank roads, which are literally just that. Roads that were planked in the wet spots to make it easier to get into the city. By the mid19th century, the greatest mode of transportation this country explores, the railroad is now en vogue. It is burke has become a hub for that. Petersburg will have railroads reaching to all points of the compass from the city. Thats what brings about the civil war and grants interest. As the war has begun, petersburg takes its role as a manufacturing city, shifted it towards the war effort, and because of all this transportation that makes it easy to come and go from there it has now become a hub for supply center for the confederate armies of virginia. Most notably, it is linked by rail to richmond 25 miles to the north. When grant decides to set his sights on petersburg, virginia in june, 1864, he is after cutting the supplies that lees army are living on. He knows that lee is going to fight to keep that line intact. On june 15, 18 six he four june 15 1864, 15,000 Union Soldiers will descend upon petersburg. Petersburg is waiting for a union attack, they have been for two years. They have a system of entrenchments all the way around the city. Unfortunately, for those confederates, there is very few men to man the entrenchments. Less than 2500 men on june 15. This 15,000 Union Soldiers literally rushed through the walls around petersburg and the citys defenses crumbled in front of them. By the time that happens, its been a long, hot day. June 1864, the temperatures are in the 100 degree range. Hot, dry, dusty. Having been waiting all day for this battle to begin, most of the soldiers are so tired and worn out that their Commanding Officer decides to simply go into camp right there. Right inside those entrenchments that he has captured. The confederates rally, come back out, they get a new set dig a new set of entrenchments. On the second day of fighting a petersburg, that line holds. For four days, grant for the army of the potomac across the river into petersburg. 70,000 Union Soldiers will be knocking on the eastern door of petersburg itself. The confederates have rallied but they could, they have 15,000 men dug in closer to the city to protect it. And after 4 days of fighting the confederate line is held. Those 15,000 men have held off 70,000 union attackers. While inflicting over 10,000 casualties in the fields just to the east of petersburg. All because of this new way of waging warfare, the defensive system of using earthen entrenchments. Using the power of those entrenchments, the confederate soldiers behind those boughs of dirt are able to fire their volleys and relative safety of those union forces coming across the field, thousands of men, shoulder to shoulder, trying to take them out. At one point, the greatest loss of the Union Regiment in the entire war will take place on june 18, where 900 men of the first major heavy artillery, charge across an open cornfield to get the confederates entrenched just across. In 10 minutes time, more than 600 of those men will fall. Meanwhile, the confederate regiment directly in front of them has one man killed and 24 wounded. That is the power of these earthen entrenchments. The summer of 1864, that some of the grant intended to fight along the line the entire summer is going to drag on. It is going to drag on to probably the most written about, talk about battle of petersburg, which will be the battle of the crater, where union troops tunnel, packet full of powder the mine itself, blow it up, and then completely botch the assault on petersburg afterwards and thus, the lines around petersburg will be maintained for another eight months. As summer turned to fall, all of a sudden we find ourselves at crossroads in the countrys history. Because in november 1864, a very important election. Abraham lincoln is running for reelection and it is not clear who the country is going to pick as its leader, whether it will be his idea of reunifying the country, or whether general mcclellan or the democrats will have their way with trying to bring the boys home, and peacefully and the war. The country speaks on november 8, and they reelect abraham lincoln. With that, you can say that the course is set. Because now grant and the union army is operating around petersburg and richmond have their marching orders. They are to bring lees armie army to bay, and they are to reunify the country. Wintertime is no time for armies to maneuver and make those kind of movements comments of the armies go into winter quarters. Grant himself has been in a tent outside petersburg since he arrived in june, has a log hut built to move into for the wintertime. His soldiers are going to do the same thing. As the army goes into winter camp, they are going to be bolstered by news from home up north that the holidays have approached and people are celebrating, while the confederate soldiers are faced with less and less in the trenches around heaters burgh and morale is harder and harder to keep these men steadfast to their duty. One of the most important events that happens in the siege of petersburg takes place not only not around petersburg but not even in the state of virginia. On the 23rd day of december, in 1864, there is an assault on wilmington, North Carolina. Because, by this point in the war, petersburg, this Vital Transportation system, is literally fueled by just two railroads. One, the southSide Railroad, which leaves petersburg and goes west, goes out toward western virginia and the allimportant saltworks that the confederates have there. Arguably the most Important Railroad coming into petersburg supplying the confederates is the one that goes south, the petersburgWeldon Railroad whose southern terminus is wilmington, North Carolina. Why wilmington, North Carolina you would say . Well, wilmington is the last seaport open to confederate blockade runners. The union navy, having blockaded every other major seaport, has not been successful in taking wilmington. With that, wilmington is now the window to the world for the confederate government. And all manner of goods and materials brought from around the world can be brought into wilmington, place on a rail car, and then taken up to petersburg. Union army, of course hampered fat someone in the summer of 1864 when they cut the Weldon Railroad in the two battles that take place there, the assault on the Weldon Railroad on august 18, and a further cut the broker with the batter of rain station the confederates still maintain the railroad in virginia, where they would then transfer those goods off of the railcars onto wagons. And, using that system of plank roads, take those goods and materials into petersburg. Those two railroads are still the most viable way of supplying the Confederate Army in petersburg. But with the union attack on wilmington on december 1864, it starts to spell doom. It will not be until the 15th of january that wellington and fort fisher will actually fall, when the defenses protecting the river feeding into petersburg and then wilmington itself falls just a little more than a month later. But that is also going to set into motion the events that take place in 1865 at petersburg. Because with that fall, and with the confederate supplies being cut out, they now becomes a concerted effort to end this war. And so there is talk of some type of piece being arranged. And theyre eagerly in february the president of the United States going to board up a steamer, aside wheel steamer about 180 feet long that has been designed to be a fairy, called the river queen, and he and secretary state William Steward are going to set sail from washington, d. C. And come down the hampton roads, and it is there that they will entertain in a peace commission, the Vice President , alexander stephens, senator robert hunter, an assistant secretary of war, former justice of the Supreme Court john campbell. And they will try to figure out a way to end this war without further hostility. They are unsuccessful. Just two days after that catching a break in the weather, grant orders his forces to, for the first time in the spring of 1865, assault the confederates at petersburg. For three days, the armies will engage yet again, trying to cut the boydton plank or a and the supplies coming in by wagon. The battle ends in a freezing ice storm. Hopefully nothing like we have this weekend, but a storm that is so bad that the wounded literally laying there on the battlefield are freezing to death. Because all of the trees in the area, covered with ice, cannot be lit on fire to even start fires to warm them by. And so, the first battle of 1865 anns with the union army having moved around petersburg little bit further, but yet, once again, unsuccessful in pushing lee out or destroying the army of northern virginia. Lee realizing the grant is going to take the initiative as soon as possible, starts to look at the possibility how can he force grant to leave petersburg . By the spring of 1865, ulysses s. Grant has over 120,000 soldiers in the Operational Area for the campaign for richmond and petersburg. They are supplied by a supply base at city point that is served by over 100 chips each day. Those ships have, on the docks enough food to feed every soldier in that army for 60 days. And to feed every horse, taking supplies to those men and pulling the artillery, for 30 days. Lee, on the other hand, has none of that. The supply depot at city point that has now become so instrumental has gone as far as bring 20 locomotives and 200 pieces of Rolling Stock and construct a railroad from their, on the docks, directly out to where you did soldiers are fighting in the fields and trenches around petersburg. And so the union army is spending the last months of the winter of 1865 relatively well supplied. The confederates, especially east of petersburg, can hear the trains. They can hear the whistles as those trains go by. They are in therein will come lees final thoughts for breaking the stalemate. John gordon, the georgian who has been wounded so many times yet still leads the corps has decided that he can break through the eastern walls that the union army has built around petersburg in front of him, and can make a rush for that supply line, cutting a supply line means that grant is going to have to withdraw all of the soldiers to the west of their, back toward their supply depot just to get them fed and keep them with ammunition. On the morning of much 25, predawn, general gordon is going to do just that. He launches an assault. He is going to send first 350 men across the lines. The first 50 men are not even allowed to carry rifles. Only axex. The next 300 men are allowed to carry rifles, they have not been allowed to load them because they dont want to give away the point of assault. They want to do this as quietly as possible. As those first 50 men with axes cut through the wooden obstructions of front of the line, the next 300 men forced their way into the works around fort stedman on the eastern side of petersburg and they will cut a hole in the line on the Eastern Front of the union army for almost 1. 5 miles. Allowing columns of confederate soldiers to pour through and head toward that Railroad Just to the rear of fort stedman. Unbeknownst to them, as they got back there, they encountered the union camps, where soldiers have been spending the winter of 1864 1865 and as they get into the camping areas and those you did soldiers are being awakened by this confederate wave that is rolling through the camps, they are fleeing, flinging open the doors of the cabin in making their way to the rear. As those confederate soldiers reach each street of those camps, and find those cabin doors open, their curiosity leads them to look inside and therein lies the supplies they have been wanting for months. And that breaks down the assault on the railroads. Because, as is wave of confederate soldiers reaches these camps, little by little, the confederate force breaks away to pillage through, fighting for their own needs. And with that, eventually, you did soldiers both former pocket behind this breakthrough, they will end up pressing the confederates back through the fortification at fort sunman and will send them then back across the open field to their own entrenchments. Lee is going to lose on march 25, 1865, over 3500 soldiers in this fight at fort stedman. Those are 3500 men lee could ill afford to lose at his defense at petersburg. If you think about it, by the calendar, march 25 is just one week to the beginning of april and only two weeks before april 9, 1865. So with the failed assault on fort stedman, lee is now going to be forced by a union assault. It figures of lee could assault but that many men from the east of petersburg, he mustve weakened his line somewhere, and so he orders his other units to probe and the union six core which finds us up to the south and west of petersburg, will end up capturing a large portion of the picket line in front of them along the jones farm. And it is there that they will use this new extended position to start looking for places where they may possibly break through the confederate lines. But perhaps even more importantly that day, is a visitor to that battlefield. Because on march 25, 1865, not only are these two armies against one another, but the president of the United States is going to watch these two armies fight against one another. In one of those simple ironies of the war, had the confederates reached that railroad to the rear of fort stedman, the president of the United States along with the commanding general for u. S. Armies, is coming through on one of the trains. They are headed out to actually review the union fifth corps. And just happened upon this battle that is taking place. And the president will ride back to the city point area later that day on a train that not only carries the wounded from the battlefield, but also confederate prisoners of war. We can only imagine the effect on their morale knowing that what they are up against is an army so large that an entire corps has been pulled from the front lines to be reviewed by the president of the United States while they are so desperately seeking to try and get through. Both sides are going to start to ramp up their efforts at this point. It is an extremely wet spring, it is not the perfect weather for military campaign. But both sides know, especially grant, that of lee gets the opportunity, he is going to abandon petersburg and richmond. He has to. There is really nothing i can keep in there, militarily. And so, grant says his biggest fear is that he awakens one morning and lee is gone. They will have a conference, once again on the river queen, at this time, president lincoln, who was there at city point on the river queen, is going to hos