The Last Citadel: Petersburg, June 1864–April 1865

The Petersburg campaign, which lasted from June 9, 1864, to April 3, 1865, was the longest and most costly siege ever to occur on North American soil. Though overshadowed by concurrent events such as Sherman's March to the Sea and Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign, the ten-month operation involved more combat actions than those two campaigns combined. It engaged an average of 170,000 soldiers and thousands of civilians, ultimately producing more than 70,000 casualties. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant pursued the capture of Petersburg with the same determination he had shown in the Overland Campaign, while General Robert E. Lee defended the city with equal resolve. Trudeau constructs this account primarily through firsthand accounts from officers, soldiers, and Petersburg residents. The narrative draws on exhaustive research of official records, unpublished memoirs, letters, diaries, published recollections, and regimental histories. The book includes twenty-three maps and a selection of drawings by combat artists who were present during the campaign.