Under Siege! : Petersburg "1864" - The Battle of the Crater
- 12 days ago
For educational purposes
Fought during the American Civil War, Petersburg should never have been 'under siege' at all.
Union forces should have seized control of the town in June 1864, but, through a mixture of confusion and incompetence, they failed in their objective, and a yearlong siege followed.
Petersburg is best remembered for the tragedy of the great crater, the result of a huge underground explosion in July 1864, into which the Union Army inexplicably charged, creating a ready-made killing zone.
This unusual tactic was an extreme answer to solving the problem of siege warfare
Fought during the American Civil War, Petersburg should never have been 'under siege' at all.
Union forces should have seized control of the town in June 1864, but, through a mixture of confusion and incompetence, they failed in their objective, and a yearlong siege followed.
Petersburg is best remembered for the tragedy of the great crater, the result of a huge underground explosion in July 1864, into which the Union Army inexplicably charged, creating a ready-made killing zone.
This unusual tactic was an extreme answer to solving the problem of siege warfare