Wilderness-Petersburg campaign

When was the Wilderness-Petersburg campaign?

May-June 1864

Where was the Wilderness-Petersburg campaign?

Virginia

Who was the Confederate leader?

Lee

Who was the Union leader?

Grant

How many men were in the Confederate army?

66,000

How many men were in the Union army?

120,000

Where were the Union aiming to go?

Richmond- the new Confederate capital

Which tactic ended badly for Grant?

The decision to go through the dense under bush forest because the Confederacy knew the area well and the dense, boggy land negated the Union’s numerical advantage from to 65,000

How did the Battle of Wilderness end?

Two days of bloody and often chaotic combat followed, ending in a tactical draw and heavy casualties, especially on the Union side

What did Grant order his troops to do instead of retreat?

He ordered his battered troops to continued southward in what would be a long and costly–but ultimately successful–campaign

Why did people criticise the Union performance?

‘Woefully’ bad cavalry positioning and Union infantry

How did the the Confederacy perform?

The Confederacy did better than the Union in their tactics however, Lee was still not it a position of power.

Why was the Battle a failure for the Confederacy?

it was unable to maintain the initiative and Lee's offensive capacity was eliminated

What did Grant do after the Battle that helped the Union?

Grant did not retreat north across the nearest river

Instead, the Union army continued south, presenting a threat to Lee's army and the Confederate capital city of Richmond

Morale was boosted to the point that the Union soldiers sang as they marched south

What eventually happened to Lee’s army?

They needed supplies and his men were starving. His army was trapped between Sheridan's and Meade's forces. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered his army to Grant

How many casualties did the Confederacy receive?

11,000

How many casualties did the Union have?

17,000

What kind of warfare was used in the siege of Petersburg?

Trench warfare

How did Grant continue to control Petersburg?

He repeatedly moved his army leftward to the southeast in a campaign that kept Lee on the defensive and moved ever closer to Richmond

How many men did the two sides lose throughout the whole campaign?

Grant suffered high losses during the campaign—approximately 50,000 casualties, or 41%—Lee lost even higher percentages of his men—approximately 32,000, or 46%—losses that could not be replaced

Why did the Union want to take control of Petersburg?

Since Petersburg was the main supply base and rail depot for the entire region, including Richmond, the taking of Petersburg by Union forces would make it impossible for Lee to continue defending Richmond.

How long was the siege of Petersburg?

292 days

What was significant about the Siege of Petersburg?

Lee was forced to retreat; abandoning both Petersburg and the nearby Confederate capital of Richmond and leading to his surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.