Siege of Petersburg

Soldiers in the trenches of the siege of Petersburg

The Siege of Petersburg was a 10-month long siege of Petersburg, Virginia during the American Civil War. It began on June 15, 1864 and lasted until April 2,1865.

General Ulysses S. Grant made his headquarters in a cabin on the lawn of Appomattox Manor, the home of Dr. Richard Epps and the oldest home (built in 1763) in what was then City Point but is now Hopewell, Virginia.

In an attempt to break the siege, a tunnel was mined under the Confederate lines and on July 30, 1864, a large number of explosive detonated. Union troops crater out of the hole that was formed, and thus began the Battle of the Crater.

Appomattox Manor, Union army headquarters during the siege

The Siege of Petersburg is militarily significant in that it foreshadowed the trench warfare that would be common in World War I.