Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-20

the slaughter at Cold Harbor, Grant gave up
the idea Of taking Richmond by frontal attack,
and turned his eyes to Petersburg. BY sending
large numbers of his men on transports around
from the York River to the James he kept Lee
in the dark as to his plans. His advance de
visions under Gen. Smith, after being DELAYED
by q small detachment under Deertng On the
City Point road, appeared before the eastern
works at Petersburg on June is. Only small
force Of Beauregard's army, Wiley's Brigade,
garrisoned the miles Of trenches around the
city, and salient on the east, known as Bat
terry No. 5, was defended only by cid men and
boys Of the Petersburg Home Guard.
This was taken by Smith on the afternoon Of
June IS, and the Confederate first lines driven
in. II Smith had gone right on into the town
then he could have taken 1t and ended the
war. But ne did not know what force might
be In front of him. It was late, and he waited
for achievements he expected in the morning.
BY then Beauregard had arrived with Q part
of Lees army, and the attack was repulsed.
The third day, when the Army Of the Potomac
stood before the city in fun force, the Army Of
Northern Virginia faced it in the trenches.
Thus began the siege CT Petersburg, which
lasted all that heart-breaking Winter Of 1854
IS. The Confederate lines were strung out for
miles from the north and east to the south
and eventually the southwest and west Of the
city, as Grant ever pushed around Lees right
flank, seeking to cut the avenue Of supplies
from the Southern States. Ceaselessly, too,
Grant was ever tapping those lines, searching
for q weak spot, and then the mud embark
mentS would blaze with Confederate rife IRE,
and the blue-coated soldiers would fall back,
and quiet settle again over that section OF the
trenches.
A 8 the parking is completed at Petersburg the
tourist win be able to follow the envelop-
ing lines Of besiegers and besieged. Almost due
southwest Of the city is Fort Fisher, the larg-
est work on the Federal lines south Of the
James River, and near It stood in the early
days OF 1865 what was known as Grants Tower,
an observation platform $50 feet In the air
from which the Union officers could look ever
into Petersburg, miles distant.
mile or so north Of Fort Fisher % the
extreme western end Of the Confederate de-
lenses, called Fort Gregg. On April 2, 1865,
the day Lee began his retreat from Petersburg
with his hungry, half-clad, but stin gallant
little army, this fort was attacked by Fosters
Division. Foster says of Fort Gregg: this
fighting at this point was the most desperate
ever witnessed, being hand-to-hand strug-
gle for IS minutes after my troops reached the
parapet Fifty seven of the enemys dead were
found inside the work" 1t Is said that every
Confederate not dead was wounded before the
post was surrendered. The man who COM
manded the "sharpshooting' battalion in the
fort stiIl lives in Petersburg.
There Is q class of visitors to the Virginia
battlehelds who have been going over them
for years, despite the discouragements of mud.
underbrush and general inaccessibiity. They
are the men from foreign shores whose interest
in the mastery military strategy Of Lee and the
comprehensive tactics of Grant lead them to
inspect the terrain which the two great
leaders moved their armies to and fro in the
desperate game of war. These visitors are sent
down in Government automobiles as guests Of
the War Department at washington, or come
kNoIN
lions. AS they return to England and France
and Germany to Italy, Turkey, Persia and
Japan, and tell of the cleared vistas along the
earthworks the roadways leading to points
from which can be seen the entire topography
OF the ground which governed the plan Of att
tack and often the result of the battle. more
eager students Of the art Of defense and
onense win come to mingle with the pilgrims
from the North and South. East and West. Of
our own continent. -