"In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications ..." Topic

…and Confederate Defeat.

" After receiving a number of hammer blows from General Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army of the Potomac between May and June 1864, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia fell back to the Confederate capital of Richmond to block Grant's newest maneuver during the Overland Campaign. Yet, with the disastrous assault against Confederate defenses at Cold Harbor in mind, Grant's troops avoided attacking Confederate defenses, especially the extensive works outside Richmond. Instead, Grant decided to move his operations south of the James River in order to cut the supply lines entering Richmond through Petersburg. This move resulted in the siege of Petersburg and the final operation in the Virginia Theater during the war. This campaign—which Earl J. Hess convincingly shows was not a true siege operation, but rather a traditional military campaign with the extensive inclusion of field fortifications—is the topic of Hess's study In the Trenches at Petersburg.

The third of a trilogy of monographs on the use of field fortifications during the Civil War, Hess focuses on the extensive fieldworks that both the Union and Confederate forces constructed outside the important rail hub of Petersburg and the reason for the armies actions. Following the operation chronologically, Hess splits the campaign into nine Union offensives, two cavalry or infantry raids, and three Confederate offensives. Though Hess includes the engineering process that went into the construction of the fieldworks, this work is primarily a campaign study, which Hess uses to show the reason for the extensive works constructed during the ten-month operation…"
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Armand

thanks for the link, it will be my x-mas present for a friend

A votre service mon ami….

Armand

Not at Petersburg, but during the 150th anniversary reenactment of Wilderness/Spotsylvania we were on privately owned ground that directly adjoined the Wilderness National Park. I was advancing my battalion through the woods when we spotted Confederates ahead. I halted my men and had them get into a handy gully. Looking over the position, I saw that the 'gully' stretched out of sight in both directions and was conveniently placed right at the 'military crest' of the little hill we were on. With a shock I realized that we were actually in a 150 year old trench from the real battle! That was seriously cool.

Thanks!

Armand

Yes, very cool, Scott!