After the battle of Cold Harbor Grant remained a few days trying to find a weak place in the Confederate lines. This he abandoned and resolved to move his army across the James and to Petersburg, which place is about twenty miles from Richmond, and was defended by General Beauregard with a small division of the Confederate army.

Petersburg was at the junction of three railroads, and was a place of great importance to the Confederacy, as all the supplies of Lee's army, as well as to Richmond, came by the way of Petersburg, and for these reasons General Grant resolved to destroy the railroads, and if possible to capture the city, and thus destroy the Confederates' source of supplies.

These conditions being well known to Lee, he resolved to defend Petersburg, and to save it from capture if possible, and thus began the greatest struggle of its kind known in modern times.

The advance divisions of Grant's army, under Hancock and W.F. Smith, appeared before Petersburg June 15, 1864. Beauregard managed to hold the entrenchments with his small force until Lee's main army arrived, which came by a shorter route than the one which the Federals had taken. Both armies were in full force before Petersburg by the evening of the 18th, and the great struggle had now begun. The Confederate entrenchments extended for thirty miles, and the whole country was a network of fortifications. Grant at once began to extend his lines of entrenchments, and thus the two armies were pitted against each other for their last great struggle, the army of General Grant numbering more than 100,000 men, while that of General Lee was about half that number.

General Grant turned his attention to trying to destroy the railroads, and made several attempts with much hard fighting to do so. But this, having been anticipated by General Lee, he had given to A.P. Hill the defense and the protection of the railroads, which was his source of supplies. They were ably protected by General Hill, and Grant's attacking parties in every instance were repulsed, and these plans were at length abandoned by him for the present.

The two armies lay facing each other before Petersburg the entire summer and fall, with several small engagements during the summer and a few very severe ones.

A severe cavalry engagement was fought at Trevilian Station, north of Richmond, on June 11th, between the Confederates, commanded by Generals Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee, and the Federals, commanded by General Sheridan.

During the latter days of July the Federals were engaged in digging a mammoth tunnel, beginning in the rear of their entrenchments and to extend under the Confederate fortifications before Petersburg, at the completion of which they expected to fill the same with large quantities of gunpowder which was to be exploded and was expected to blow up the Confederate fortifications.

Of all the schemes employed by either army this was the greatest, and one in which Grant had great faith, and the progress of which was watched with great anxiety. The Confederates were apprised of this undertaking, and had made ready by placing several batteries within their lines so that the fire from the same would sweep the opening which would be made by the blowing up of the "crater." At a few minutes past five on the morning of July 30th this mine was exploded, which was a sight to behold. The Federal troops who were in waiting to march through the opening were somewhat delayed from the shock and horror of the explosion, but at length marched in the opening in great numbers, and by this time the Confederate batteries were brought into action, which so horribly swept their ranks, and they were charged by General Mahone with several divisions of Georgia troops, and the Federal loss became so great, and their ranks in so much confusion, that they were ordered to retire within their entrenchments, thus bringing to a dismal failure the capture of Petersburg by this plan.

During the last days of August Grant renewed his plan to destroy the Weldon railroad. This task was given to General Warren, with a large force who, after fighting several hard battles with the dashing Mahone, whose numbers were greatly inferior to that of Warren, and from his reputation for strategy it is thought that he was very worthy to wear the mantle of "Stonewall" Jackson, the Federals succeeded in destroying this railroad in several places.

Grant continued to extend his lines, and by the end of October he was very near the Southside railroad, and on the 27th fought a desperate battle with A.P. Hill at Hatcher's Run, in which the Federals were defeated and retired within their entrenchments before Petersburg, this being the last engagement of importance until the coming spring.

The suffering and privation endured by Lee's army during the winter of 1864 and 1865, while they lay within the defenses of Petersburg and Richmond with scant clothing and food, can scarcely be imagined by anyone excepting those who were there. Their numbers were depleted by sickness and other causes so by the coming of spring Lee had within his ranks less than 50,000 men.

Lee's lines had been extended until they were so thin that there was danger of breaking. A.P. Hill held the right, Gordon and Anderson the center, and Longstreet the left. Late in February Grant's army was reËnforced by General Sheridan from the valley, and in the last days of March it was further reËnforced from General Butler's army from down the James River.

General Lee began to see the position that he was in with his army against superior numbers and equipment, and felt that he must sooner or later evacuate Petersburg, and began to plan a junction of his army with General Johnston's in North Carolina.

General Grant anticipated this plan of Lee's and began to extend his lines westward so if possible to cut off Lee's chances of retreat.

Lee determined to make a bold attack on Grant's right, the objective point being Fort Stedman. This plan was given to General Gordon to be carried out, which he gallantly did, and captured the fort, but was unable to hold the same, and retired within the Confederate lines. His attack and capture of Fort Stedman was carefully planned and well supported by the main Confederate army.

The battle at Fort Stedman did not interfere with Grant's plan in extending his lines along the front of the Confederate army, under General Warren. Lee had sent General Anderson to hold the road over which he would retreat in the event he was compelled to evacuate Petersburg.

On the 31st a large Confederate force was at Dinwiddie Court House, and during that night they took a strong position at Five Forks, and here on April 1st a hard battle was fought, the Federals being commanded by Generals Sheridan and Warren. The Confederates were finally defeated with a loss of 5,000 prisoners. The Confederates' defeat at Five Forks was a great blow to Lee, and he immediately began preparations for the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond.

On the night of April 1st Grant began his attack all along his lines, which he kept up the entire night. His cannon threw shells into the doomed city, and at dawn on April 2d the assault began. The Federal troops went forward in an impetuous charge through a storm of grape and canister which was poured into their ranks. The Confederates fell back within their inner breastworks and the Federals pushed on the left as far as Hatcher's Run, where they had a severe engagement in which the Confederate General Pegram was killed, and another engagement near the Southside railroad in which General A.P. Hill was killed. His death was an irreparable loss to the Confederacy. He was one of their able corps commanders, and had been in all the principal engagements in the East. He played a distinctive part in the Seven Days' Battles before Richmond; his timely arrival on the field saved Lee's army from utter rout at Antietam Creek and turned defeat into partial victory; he was a great favorite of "Stonewall" Jackson, and took a distinctive part in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, in which last-named battle he was near by when "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded; with his corps was first on the field at Gettysburg; his corps received the first onslaught of the Federals at the Battle of the Wilderness; was too sick to command his corps at Spottsylvania Court House, which was temporarily commanded by General Early; played a distinctive part at Cold Harbor, and here at Petersburg, on Sunday, April 2d, the end. He was buried in the cemetery at Petersburg on the night of April 2d, while the whole country was being lit up by bursting shells and the hurrying and noise of the progress of a great battle.

On Sunday morning, April 2d, General Lee notified the authorities at Richmond that he must evacuate Petersburg at once, and to notify President Davis of the situation. President Davis was at St. Paul's Church with several of his cabinet listening to a sermon by Dr. Minnegerode, speaking of a supper before Gethsemane. The sexton walked up the isle and handed the President the message, which he read, and quietly retired from the church, this being noticeable on account of it being somewhat out of the ordinary, although they were accustomed to the roar of the cannon at Petersburg. However, it was soon known that Petersburg and Richmond were soon to be evacuated, and the service was dismissed at the church without further announcement.

The city of Richmond was in a state of excitement as the officers of the government departed from the city on their way to Danville, and during the night the arsenals were set on fire by the evacuating troops. The flames spread to a large portion of the city, which was burned. The next day the city was taken charge of by the Federals.