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PETERSBURG
(PAGE 3 OF 5)





FORT STEDMAN

Fort Stedman - 1865
Fort Stedman - May, 1865.18
Fort Stedman - 1998
Fort Stedman - March, 1998.
 
The two photographs, taken at approximately the same place, show the effects of aging on the earthern works.

March 25, 1865
Estimated Casualties: 3,850 total (US 950; CS 2,900)

In a last-gasp offensive, Gen. Robert E. Lee amassed nearly half of his army in an attempt to break through Grant's Petersburg defenses and threaten his supply depot at City Point. Directed by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon, the pre-dawn assault on March 25 overpowered the garrisons of Fort Stedman and Batteries X, XI, and XII. The Confederates were brought under a killing crossfire, and counterattacks led by Maj. Gens. Parke and Hartranft contained the breakthrough, cut off, and captured more than 1,900 of the attackers. During the day, elements of the II and VI Corps assaulted and captured the entrenched picket lines in their respective fronts, which had been weakened for the assault on Fort Stedman. This was a devastating blow for Lee's army, setting up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1 and the fall of Petersburg on April 2-3.
(Text Source: U.S. Gov't, National Park Service )


FORT HASKELL


Fort Haskell - 1999
(Looking North towards Fort Stedman)


March 25, 1865

Union artillery and very heavy infantry fire stopped the Confederate southward advance at Fort Haskell during the Battle of Fort Stedman. Federals, who had been driven down the line of works were jammed so tightly into this fort that most could only load weapons and pass them forward to be fired. (Text Source: U.S. Gov't, National Park Service)


THE DICTATOR

The Dictator - 1865
The Dictator - 1865.28
The Dictator - 1998
The Dictator - 1998.

The Dictator, a 13 inch, 9 ton, siege gun used against Petersburg. Whether the one in the photo on the right is the original is subject to debate.
 


PAGE FOUR


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