The Breakthrough

The Breakthrough. The Breakthrough Trail. On the evening of April 1, 1865, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant issued orders for a massive attack against the Confederate lines defending Petersburg. Grant scheduled the assault for the following morning., In the pre-dawn darkness of April 2, the Union Sixth Corps deployed in a wedge-shaped formation aimed at the Confederate works directly in front of you. They began their attack at 4:30 a.m. In a matter of minutes they had crossed what was then one-half mile of open fields and approached the Confederate fortifications., The grayclad defenders, soldiers from North Carolina, blasted the attackers with muskets and cannon fire, inflicting hundreds of casualties in about fifteen minutes. Despite these terrible losses, the brave and determined Northerners sustained their momentum and scrambled up and over the earthworks., A vicious hand-to-hand struggle took place along the Confederate works, but the outnumbered Southerners could not hold their position. Many of the Confederates were captured – unknown numbers of others were killed or wounded. Soon, Union flags flew from these ramparts that had been defended for so long by General Robert E. Lee’s devoted troops., The Breakthrough here forced General Lee to evacuate Petersburg that night. Confederate government officials fled the capital at Richmond as well. One week later, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House.