Opportunity Lost

Opportunity Lost. . , At 7 p.m. on June 15, 1864, the boom of Union cannons to the east foreshadowed a Union attack on the Dimmock Line. Minutes later, soldiers of the Union Eighteenth Corps broke through the undermanned Confederate line and swarmed over the works here at Battery 5. In two hours the Federals captured 1.5 miles of Petersburg’s defenses., Though few Confederates stood between the Federals and the streets of Petersburg, Union Maj. Gen. William F. Smith stopped his advance to await reinforcements. Nine months of tedious, deadly siege would pass before the Federals would again have such an opportunity to capture Petersburg., (Photo Captions), “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, Union attack on Battery #5 by A. Waud