The Battle of Fort Blakeley on April 9, 1865, was the climax of a months-long campaign that ultimately led to the capture of Mobile by Union forces and included what was probably the last grand charge of the Civil War. Federal troops had begun besieging Fort Blakeley more than a week earlier, and for several days the opposing armies fought heavy skirmishes as Union earthworks steadily advanced closer to the Confederate line. By Sunday, April 9, the armies were less than 1,000 yards apart. At about 5:30 p.m., the Union army launched a general assault along a nearly three-mile front, with some 16,000 troops charging from trenches under rifle and artillery fire and occasionally stumbling into scattered land mines. After driving in skirmishers in the rifle pits, the attackers paused briefly under deadly fire, cut through obstacles made from fallen trees, and swarmed the approximately 3,500 Confederate defenders. Fierce close-quarters combat followed, with Union troops shot down while trying to plant their flags on the earthworks and hand-to-hand fighting in places. Some defenders surrendered quickly after being overwhelmed, while others fought on even after being surrounded. The battle ended in about thirty minutes, and most of the garrison was captured, though a very small number escaped. Exact casualty figures are unknown; about 75 Confederates were killed during the assault, while the attackers suffered about 150 killed and around 650 wounded during the entirety of operations.