Battle of petersburg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Battle of petersburg - Essay Example Outlined below is the description of the major events that took place in the battle. The Potomac Army approached Petersburg from the south and began its operations. General Smith’s troops were sent after they were successful in the Cold Harbor battle. Butler sent Gilmore with 10500 men to attack the Confederates at Petersburg. However, this attack was a failure, and they had to wait another five days to attack again. Smith attempted another attack against Petersburg with his army on June 14th. This time he succeeded in driving the confederates away from their strong lines that consisted of rifle pits. The success ascribed to Smith also included the capturing of the powerful salient, connecting lines, guns and 300 prisoners. As Smith and his men celebrated their success, other armies joined those in Petersburg in an attempt to protect the City (Chicks, 2015 pg.78). In the night of 15th and 16th, the works that the confederates put up to defend their City bore fruits as the Smith army lost its prize. On the same date, June 16th, Gen Butler accorded General Terry an army to destroy the rail lines by forcing General Beauregard’s out of the area they occupied. After succeeding in possessing the rail, he was driven out of the area by an army led by General James Longstreet, who was headed to Richmond from Petersburg. Terry was sent back to Bermuda by the large army the General controlled. On the 17th, the 7th and 9th corps attacked Petersburg again in the afternoon hours. This attack lasted even at night with the confederates fighting to recapture anything that they had lost. They succeeded in forcing the 9th corps out of the battle. After the loss of nearly 10000 men, Grant withheld attacking Petersburg by a storm to save him from such losses. On the other hand, he used the Hancock and Wright Corps towards the left of Petersburg to force the Confederates back to the right (Cloyd, 2014 pg.45). They then attacked and captured more confederates. More