Lee Besieged: Grant’s Second Petersburg Offensive, June 18-July 1, 1864 (John Horn - CWC)

by John Horn The nine-month siege of Petersburg was the longest continuous operation of the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, it was anything but static trench warfare, as John Horn ably demonstrates in Lee Besieged: Grant’s Second Petersburg Offensive, June 18-July 1, 1864. Large-scale Union “offensives”—grand maneuvers that triggered some of the large-scale battles—broke the monotony of siege warfare. Once his First Offensive (the assaults of June 15-18) failed to capture the city, the Union commander planned and launched his next major effort within hours. This Second Offensive was one of the most dramatic operations of the entire war. To pave the way for success, Grant brought the city’s bridges under the fire of his siege guns to slow the transfer of enemy troops in and out of Petersburg. He also seized a bridgehead at Deep Bottom on the James River’s north bank to draw Confederate forces out of Petersburg by menacing Richmond. Next, he took more ambitious measures by sending