“Petersburg, Virginia. Federal Soldiers Removing Artillery From Confederate Fortifications April 1865”

 “Petersburg, Virginia. Federal Soldiers Removing Artillery From Confederate Fortifications April 1865”

The Siege of Petersburg: The Longest Military Event of the Civil War

Nine and a half months, 70,000 casualties, the suffering of civilians, thousands of U. S. Colored Troops fighting for the freedom, and the decline of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of No. Virginia all describe the Siege of Petersburg. It was here Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines ensuring the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865. Six days later, Lee surrendered.