Siege of Petersburg—Lee Strikes Back

By March 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee had endured nearly nine months of fighting, repulsed seven Union offensives, and stretched his men along a 37-mile front at Petersburg. Knowing it was only a matter of time before his lines broke, he made a desperate gamble and launched his only offensive of the siege, pinning his hopes on breaking the Union grip on his army. In a pre-dawn surprise assault on March 25, 1865, Lee attacked Union Fort Stedman in hopes of breaking that grip on Petersburg, but within four hours the effort had failed completely. That afternoon Union forces struck where Lee had weakened his line to launch the Fort Stedman attack, and by nightfall they had gained valuable ground for the breakthrough assault on April 2, 1865.

Petersburg, Virginia · United States