1. The Military Importance of Richmond during the Civil War GEORGE SANDRIDGE

2. Background  Richmond played a key role in both the Virginia and the U.S. economy  It was home to numerous industries such as grain, tobacco, and iron production  It was home to the Tredegar Ironworks, which was the largest ironworks in the South  It had a population of 37,910, which was 25 th in the nation

3. Start of the war  Richmond, like most Southern cities, opposed secession due to economic reasons  The industries in Richmond relied on Northern merchants to buy their goods  If Virginia seceded, then all ties with Northern merchants would be cut  This would affect both the Northern merchants and the Southern factories  Eventually, after President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers, Virginia voted to secede on April 17, 1861

4. Political importance  Original capital of the Confederacy was in Montgomery, Alabama  Moved to Richmond to convince hesitant Virginians to join the Confederate cause  “Command center” for the South’s war efforts  Only downside was that Richmond was only 100 miles from the Union capital, Washington D.C.  Union commanders knew that the fall of Richmond would result in the fall of the Confederacy  Resulted in numerous attempts by the Union army to take the city later on in the war

5. Economic Importance: Manufacturing  Prior to the war, factories in Richmond made goods to sell to both Southern and Northern merchants  Once the war started, factories switched to making goods for the Confederate military  The Tredegar Ironworks became the main producer of metal items for the Confederacy  Armor plates, bullets, artillery, etc.  Other smaller factories produced everything from swords and bayonets to tents and uniforms

6. Economic Importance: Railroads  Richmond was the terminus of five major railroads:  The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, the Virginia Central Railroad, the Richmond and York River Railroad, the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, and the Richmond and Danville Railroad  These railroads were vital in supplying the Confederates with materials needed to fight  As the Union army advanced south, they burnt almost every railroad they came to  By 1865, the Confederacy had very few remaining railroad lines

7. Defense of Richmond  Due to its importance to the Confederacy, Richmond was a constant target for Union military campaigns  Most advances by the Union army were turned away by Confederate defenses near the city  In 1862, the Union army got within 4 miles of the city limits before General Lee turned them away during the Seven Days’ Battle  This showed that the Union army had the possibility to attack Richmond

8. Before The Siege  In the summer of 1864, the Union army began the Overland Campaign  Newly appointed General Ulysses S. Grant was ordered to target General Lee’s troops instead of Richmond  However, Lee’s army was defending Richmond since it was his supply route  After marching down through Northern Virginia, the Union army flanked Lee and his men and settled in Petersburg

9. Siege of Petersburg  After settling in Petersburg, the 100,000 man Union army began a 9 ½ month siege that lasted from June 1864 to March 1865  During the first few days of the siege, Grant ordered several assaults on the Petersburg defenses made up of 20,000 Confederates  Eventually, Grant realized that further assaults would be useless, so he ordered his troops to dig in  The war soon became a stalemate as each side engaged in trench warfare

10. Trench Warfare

11. Battles  There were 30 battles fought within a 40 mile radius of Richmond during the Siege of Petersburg  There were numerous other battles that were important to the siege that were farther away

12. Battle of Staunton River Bridge  During the Siege of Petersburg, General Lee depended on the Richmond and Danville Railroad to move supplies to his location  The R&D Railroad ran through Roanoke Station (Randolph), which was guarded by a small unit of less than 1,000 men  A Union cavalry division broke off from the main force in Petersburg to destroy the bridge  Upon arrival, the Union commanders organized several assaults to nullify the defenses and destroy the bridge  Each assault failed, and eventually Union General James Wilson ordered the men to retreat back to Petersburg  After the battle, the 492 volunteers became known as the “Old Men and Young Boys” Brigade

13. Evacuation of Richmond  After 9 ½ months of fighting, the right flank of the Confederate defenses around Petersburg gave way  Seeing this, Grant ordered an all-out assault on the remaining defenses  Soon, Lee ordered his men to retreat to Richmond, where they marched around Grant and towards Appomattox  Prior to the fall of the defenses, Confederate officials ordered the evacuation of Richmond  After evacuation, the officials ordered all warehouses and supply depots to be burned  The fire spread rapidly through the city’s business and industrial districts, rendering them useless to Union soldiers  One week after the evacuation, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse

14. Bibliography  "A Guide to the Tredegar Ironworks." Library of Virginia. Accessed November 25, 2015. http://ead.lib.virginia.edu.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi00494.xml ;query=;.  "Civil War Sites in Virginia." National Park Service. Accessed November 25, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va64inset.htm.  DeCredico, Mary, and Jaime Amanda Martinez. "Richmond during the Civil War." Encyclopedia Virginia. October 27, 2015. Accessed November 25, 2015. http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/richmond_during_the_civil_war.  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1860." U.S. Bureau of the Census. June 15, 1998. Accessed November 25, 2015. https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt.  "Railroads of the Confederacy." Civil War Trust. 2014. Accessed November 25, 2015. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and- logistics/logistics/railroads.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/.  "Siege of Petersburg Begins." History.com. 2010. Accessed November 25, 2015. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-petersburg-begins.

15. Picture Citations  Picture 1: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Alexander_Gardner_-_1865_- _Tredegar_(Detail_of_iron_works).jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Alexander_Gardner_-_1865_- _Tredegar_(Detail_of_iron_works).jpg  Picture 2: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/rail/graphics/appo.png  Picture 3: http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/maps/virginia_6162.jpg  Picture 4: http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/files/images/HD_Petersburg18Jun64WPz.previe w.jpg http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/files/images/HD_Petersburg18Jun64WPz.previe w.jpg  Picture 5: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/petersburg/petersburg-trenches-700px.jpg  Picture 6: http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/maps/va64_inset.jpg  Picture 7: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Wilson-Kautz_Raid.png  Picture 8: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/RichmondVA_1865_SkylineP anorama_AcrosstheJames.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/RichmondVA_1865_SkylineP anorama_AcrosstheJames.png