Petersburg 1864-65: The longest siege

In 1864, Petersburg, Virginia became the setting for one of the last great campaigns of the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the longest siege in American History. After his failure to capture Richmond in the Spring, General Ulysses S. Grant decided to strangle the life out of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia by surrounding the city of Petersburg and cutting off General Robert E. Lee's supply lines.

The ensuing siege would carry on for nearly ten months, involve 160,000 soldie…