Overview
The Third Battle of Petersburg took place at Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. After 10 months of stalemate around Petersburg, General Ulysses S. Grant looked for a way to break General Robert E. Lee’s lines and force the Army of Northern Virginia out of the city. Grant’s chances improved after General Philip Sheridan cleared Confederate forces from the Shenandoah Valley and returned to reinforce him.
Grant’s spring offensive opened on March 29, when Sheridan’s cavalry and General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps moved against Lee’s right flank at Lewis’s Farm. Fighting continued at White Oak Road and Dinwiddie Court House before Sheridan and Warren won a major victory at Five Forks on April 1. Grant then ordered a general assault against Petersburg.
Before dawn on April 2, Union artillery bombarded the Confederate lines. General Horatio Wright’s 6th Corps broke the Boydton Line, while General Andrew Humphreys’s 2nd Corps and General John G. Parke’s 9th Corps attacked other Confederate positions. By the end of the day, Lee prepared to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. The Union victory helped seal the fate of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Breakthrough at Petersburg, Fall of Petersburg.
- Date: April 2, 1865.
- Location: Dinwiddie County, near Petersburg, Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant, George G. Meade, and Edward O.C. Ord.
- CSA Commanders: Robert E. Lee.
- Who Won: The United States won the Third Battle of Petersburg.
- Campaign: Appomattox Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, 1865.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 3,500 killed, wounded, captured, and missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 63,000 soldiers.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 4,250 killed, wounded, captured, and missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of Northern Virginia.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 18,000 to 20,000 soldiers.
Significance
The Third Battle of Petersburg is important to American History because the Union victory forced General Robert E. Lee to abandon Petersburg and Richmond during the final phase of the Civil War. Once the Army of Northern Virginia withdrew, it faced stronger Union forces while suffering from exhaustion, hunger, and exposure. This made Lee’s surrender the next week more likely.
History
Grant’s Umbrella Strategy
On March 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Upon his arrival in Washington, Grant drafted a plan to get the various Union armies in the field to act in concert and strike the Confederacy from several directions: Grant would travel with Major General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac in pursuit of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Richmond area; Major General William T. Sherman would march three federal armies south from Chattanooga to capture Atlanta, and Major General Franz Sigel would invade Western Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to cut off supplies to Lee’s army and to prevent any Confederate attempts to attack Meade’s flank.
Stalemate at Petersburg
The Union Army of the Potomac relentlessly engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia throughout the spring of 1864. By June, Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area. Thereafter, both armies were entrenched, and a stalemate ensued for the next ten months. During that period, Grant probed Lee’s defenses to no avail. Despite being well-entrenched, the Confederate situation grew progressively worse as their supplies dwindled.
Union prospects, on the other hand, improved over the winter. Major General Philip Sheridan Sheridan completed his task of sweeping the Confederates from the Shenandoah Valley, and his well-rested troops rejoined Grant in the spring. Determined to break the stalemate at Petersburg, Grant ordered Sheridan to turn Lee’s right flank with the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps along with the 2nd and 5th Infantry Corps, and force Lee out of Petersburg.
Battle of Fort Stedman — Failed Confederate Breakout
On March 25, 1865, Lee made one final attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg by ordering forces commanded by Major General John B. Gordon to attack Fort Stedman, a Union fortification in the siege lines surrounding Petersburg. Gordon’s pre-dawn attack succeeded initially, but blistering Union counterattacks forced the Confederates back inside their lines, ending the Battle of Fort Stedman.
Appomattox Campaign
Many historians consider March 29, 1865, as the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign. On that date, Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army by ordering Major General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry (freshly returned from the Shenandoah Valley) and Major General G. K. Warren’s 5th Corps to attempted to turn Lee’s right flank at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm. Two days later the action resumed at the Battle of White Oak Road and Battle of Dinwiddie Court House as Lee shored up his right-wing to halt the federal Flanking maneuver. On April 1 Sheridan and Warren continued their offensive, with a major victory over Major General George Pickett’s forces at the Battle of Five Forks.
Federals Turn Up the Heat
On March 29, Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps defeated several Confederate brigades commanded by Major General Bushrod Johnson at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm. Two days later, the action resumed at the Battles of White Oak Road and Dinwiddie Court House, as Lee shored up his right-wing to halt the federal flanking maneuver. On April 1, Philip Sheridan and Warren continued their offensive, with a major victory over Major General George Pickett’s forces at the Battle of Five Forks. Sensing the urgency of Lee’s situation, Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate defenses at Petersburg on April 2, which resulted in the fall of the Confederate capital at Richmond.
April 2, 1865 — Federal Assault on Petersburg
Encouraged by the Federal victory at Five Forks, Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate entrenchments around Petersburg on April 2. From midnight until 2 a.m., the federal artillery rained a massive bombardment upon the Confederate lines. At 4 a.m., the Union 6th Corps, commanded by Major General Horatio Wright, left its entrenchments and smashed into the Confederates on the Boydton Line south of the city. By 4:40, the Federals had breached the Confederate defenses and began wreaking havoc. Shortly before 7 a.m., Union Corporal William Mauk shot and killed Major General A. P. Hill as the Confederate officer was riding to meet his soldiers in the confusion.
To the west, Major General Andrew Humphreys’s 2nd Corps broke the Hatcher Run Line and drove the Confederate defenders back into the city’s inner defenses by late afternoon.
To the east, Major General John G. Parke’s 9th Corps struck Fort Mahone and the Jerusalem Plank Road line. After forcing the Confederates from their entrenchments, the Federals withstood a fierce counterattack by elements of Major General John B. Gordon’s 2nd Confederate Division during the afternoon.
Confederates Abandon Richmond and Petersburg
By 10 a.m., Lee realized he could no longer hold the Union forces back. He advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave the Confederate capital at Richmond. By late afternoon, as the Union offensive slowed, Grant let his men rest as he planned a final assault for the next day. Lee spent the afternoon preparing to retreat. As darkness fell, the Army of Northern Virginia began evacuating Petersburg and Richmond, moving west in a desperate attempt to join forces with Major General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of North Carolina.
Timeline
- 1864, March 12 — President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States.
- 1864, June — Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area.
- 1865, March 25 — Lee ordered Major General John B. Gordon to attack Fort Stedman.
- 1865, March 29
- Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army.
- Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps defeated Confederate brigades at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm.
- 1865, April 1 — Major General Philip Sheridan and Warren won a major victory at the Battle of Five Forks.
- 1865, April 2
- Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate defenses at Petersburg.
- Union artillery bombarded the Confederate lines from midnight until 2 a.m.
- Major General Horatio Wright’s 6th Corps attacked the Boydton Line at 4 a.m.
- Union forces broke through the Confederate defenses by 4:40 a.m.
- Union Corporal William Mauk shot and killed Major General A.P. Hill shortly before 7 a.m.
- Lee advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave Richmond by 10 a.m.
- The Army of Northern Virginia evacuated Petersburg and Richmond after dark.
AP US History
Definition
Third Battle of Petersburg (1865) — The Third Battle of Petersburg was fought at Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a general assault after Union victories at Lewis’s Farm, White Oak Road, Dinwiddie Court House and Five Forks weakened General Robert E. Lee’s right flank. General Horatio Wright’s 6th Corps broke the Boydton Line, while General Andrew Humphreys and General John G. Parke attacked other Confederate defenses. The Union victory forced Lee to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond.
Alignment
The Third Battle of Petersburg is part of the following AP US History sections:
