Petersburg Battlefields

In the fall of 1864, the Union army extended its line of fortifications at Petersburg, creating a classic earthwork defensive system that included obstructions in front of the main works, enclosed forts, artillery batteries, and infantry works or "curtains" arranged for mutually supporting fire. This stretch of the line included Fort Welch, Battery XXVI, and connecting infantry breastworks. Union forts, entered from the rear by a ramp or sally port, featured a dry moat and garrisons of infantry and artillery in fixed firing positions, while batteries were open at the rear and often included traverses to limit the effects of incoming shells. The exterior of the Federal works included a dry ditch or moat, abatis, and fraise, all intended to slow attackers at point-blank range, and the integrated defenses deterred all but the most desperate assaults.

Petersburg, Virginia · United States