Petersburg Campaign Facts

June 9, 1864–March 25, 1865

Key facts about Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Petersburg Campaign of 1864–1865.

Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s Petersburg Campaign was a nine-month-long Union offensive launched in June 1864 that forced General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to abandon the Confederate capital at Richmond in April 1865. [Wikimedia Commons]

Date and Location

  • June 9, 1864–March 25, 1865
  • Around Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia

Timeline of the Petersburg Campaign

These are the main battles and events of the Petersburg Campaign in order.

Principal Union Commanders

Principal Confederate Commanders

Union Forces Engaged

  • Army of the Potomac
  • Army of the James
  • Army of the Shenandoah

Confederate Forces Engaged

  • Army of Northern Virginia
  • Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 125,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

  • Roughly 52,000

Estimated Union Casualties

  • 42,000 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

  • 28,000 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)

Result

  • Union victory