Battery 5 Trail and nearby markers. Use the “First >>” button above to see these markers in sequence.| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 5 Trail | | | On the ground before you the first major attacks against Petersburg occurred. This bloodletting marked the beginning of nine months of siege. This 0.6-mile trail will take you through Battery 5 of the Confederate Dimmock Line, captured by the Federals on June 15, 1864. Along the way you will also see the position of the famous Union mortar, the "Dictator." The walk includes a set of stairs and a moderate (10% slope). Mobility-impaired visitors can reach the position of the "Dictator" by taking the right fork of the trail. — Map (db m14601) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Uprooted by War | | | “Every tree, stump, and fence has disappeared… What was once verdant is now a wasteland of dust and dirt.” - John Haley, 17th Maine Infantry January 26, 1865 The gentle depression in front of you is the only vestige of the Josiah Jordon House. The house was dismantled by Union troops during the Siege of Petersburg. War came to the Jordon farm in late 1862, when Confederate engineer Charles Dimmock laid out ten miles of defenses to protect Petersburg. Battery 5 of the . . . — Map (db m7092) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Artillery at Petersburg | | | "The campaign became quite scientific, so that after the first few weeks, we learned to tell by the sound the nature of every missile that passed over us, and knew which ones to dodge. The mortar shells had the most terror for us. The ordinary field-pieces or siege-guns that threw shells directly through the air did not disturb us much, as we lay behind our breastworks." Theodore Gerrish, 20th Maine Infantry In front of you are just some of the types of cannon used in the Civil War. . . . — Map (db m14602) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Opportunity Lost | | | “At that hour, Petersburg was clearly at the mercy of the Federal commander, who had all but captured it.” - Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, CSA Confederate Commander, June 15, 1864 “Deeming that I held important points of the enemy’s line of works, I thought it prudent to make no farther advance.” - Maj. Gen. William F. “Baldy” Smith, USA Union Commander, June 15, 1864 At 7 p.m. on June 15, 1864, the boom of Union cannons to the east foreshadowed a . . . — Map (db m6900) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Dictator | | | Sept. 1864: “…the enemy frequently shoot very large shells into Petersburg & do some damage to buildings, but the people are getting used to it, so they don’t mind them….” - A.I.P. Varin 2nd Mississippi Famous but militarily ineffective, the “Dictator” fired on Petersburg from this spot during July, August, and September 1864. The Dictator was a 13-inch seacoast mortar similar to the one in front of you. It was the largest gun used during the siege and could lob . . . — Map (db m6896) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line | | | In 1862 – two years before the first Federals appeared at the city’s gates – Confederate Captain Charles Dimmock oversaw the construction of a ten-mile line of defensive works ringing Petersburg. In front of you is Battery 5 one of the largest of the fifty-five artillery positions in the Dimmock Line. Most of the works you see at Battery 5 were built by slaves. The parapet to your left, shown on the diagram to your right in blue, was added by the Federals after the battle here on . . . — Map (db m6899) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Jordon Family Cemetery | | | Buried with his parents are Josiah Jordan, his wife, Mary and four of their children - Watson, 10 months, Laura, 3 years, Charles, 4 months, and Lemuel, 24 years. This land was Josiah's farm at the time of the siege. — Map (db m14617) | | Virginia, Petersburg — Confederate Battery 6 | | | This battery fell to the Union forces on June 15, 1864. — Map (db m14618) |
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