The Petersburg Campaign, Part I

Battles and Banter: A Relaxed Military History Podcast

On this episode of Battles & Banter, Avery, Codie & Tony dive into a multi-episode analysis of the extremely significant Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In June 1864, Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant began to shift his focus toward the city of Petersburg, Virginia. Acting as the supply hub south of Richmond, Petersburg's railroad lines kept men and material flowing to the Confederate capital of Richmond and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia still entrenched in their Cold Harbor defenses. Due to it's strategic value, Petersburg would become the setting of the major climax of the eastern theater of the war. The guys talk about the Union crossing of the Chickahominy and James Rivers, and the first initial assaults on Petersburg that resulted in the beginning of a ten-month siege of the city. The guys also discuss what constitutes as a success in relation to the Union failures to take the city while it was at it's most vulnerable. Enjoy!