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May and June 1864 in Virginia witnessed some of the most brutal and bloody fighting of the Civil War. Combined losses for the two armies after the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, and Cold Harbor exceeded 80,000 killed, wounded, and captured. The result?
A stalemate outside Richmond.

The carnage notwithstanding, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant set his armies toward their next target: the logistical powerhouse of Petersburg. His bold maneuver, which included the construction of a lengthy pontoon bridge across the broad James River and a surprise march against the city, caught Confederate commander Gen. Robert E. Lee by surprise.

 

Somehow, the Confederates managed to hold on against the bungled Federal effort and fight them to a standstill. Lee’s army finally began arriving on June 18.
Petersburg would hold - for now.

Join the Dan Sickles Civil War Round Table with author Sean Michael Chick for a discussion of book’s fresh and renewed attention to one of the most important, fascinating, and yet oddly overlooked battles of the war.