Near Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Petersburg Battlefields

The Sixth Corps Poised for Attack, April 2, 1865

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 21, 2021

1. Petersburg Battlefields Marker

Inscription.

Petersburg Battlefields. The Sixth Corps Poised for Attack, April 2, 1865. , "Gentlemen we are going to have a h, l of a fight at early daylight ... if any of you have anything to say to your folks, wives, or sweethearts make your story short and get what sleep you can.", Col. James Hubbard, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, USA, "Sleep was weighing my eyelids down, and I ... rolled myself up in my blanket by a smoldering fire, and slept to the music of shrieking shot and shell from Yankee batteries.", Corp. Joseph S. Kimbrough. 14th Georgia Infantry, CSA, The Union Sixth Corps bore responsibility for making the dawn attack in this sector. Gen. Horatio G. Wright marshaled some 14,000 men in forty-two infantry regiments and ordered them to move silently from their main line of earthworks to the picket line captured on March 25. Careful planning over a period of several days suggests that Wright considered the operation to be perilous and victory by no means certain., Dozens of Federal cannons unleashed a punishing bombardment on the Confederate lines on the night of April 1 that lasted for nearly three hours. When the guns fell silent, Wright's troops moved as quietly as possible to their designated jump-off points. The soldiers deployed across a front nearly one mile in width, poised to make an assault larger in scale than even the Civil War's most famous attack, Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg., (Photo Captions), Union Gen. George W. Getty commanded the Second Division of the Sixth Corps and led the attack in this sector. Getty's troops made the initial breakthrough on the morning of April 2, 1865. , Courtesy Library of Congress, Gen. Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox commanded the Confederate troops that opposed the Union Sixth Corps on April 2. Only ten regiments of Wilcox's Division covered the mile-wide front across which the Federals attacked that morning. - Courtesy Library of Congress, In the hours before the Sixth Corps attack on April 2, 1865, the fields around you were filled with soldiers wondering what their fate would be.

"Gentlemen we are going to have a h—l of a fight at early daylight ... if any of you have anything to say to your folks, wives, or sweethearts make your story short and get what sleep you can."—Col. James Hubbard, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, USA

"Sleep was weighing my eyelids down, and I ... rolled myself up in my blanket by a smoldering fire, and slept to the music of shrieking shot and shell from Yankee batteries."—Corp. Joseph S. Kimbrough. 14th Georgia Infantry, CSA

The Union Sixth Corps bore responsibility for making the dawn attack in this sector. Gen. Horatio G. Wright marshaled some 14,000 men in forty-two infantry regiments and ordered them to move silently from their main line of earthworks to the picket line captured on March 25. Careful planning over a period of several days suggests that Wright considered the operation to be perilous and victory by no means certain.

Dozens of Federal cannons unleashed a punishing bombardment on the Confederate lines on the night of April 1 that lasted for nearly three hours. When the guns fell silent, Wright's troops moved as quietly as possible to their designated

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jump-off points. The soldiers deployed across a front nearly one mile in width, poised to make an assault larger in scale than even the Civil War's most famous attack, Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg.

(Photo Captions)

Union Gen. George W. Getty commanded the Second Division of the Sixth Corps and led the attack in this sector. Getty's troops made the initial breakthrough on the morning of April 2, 1865.
Courtesy Library of Congress

Gen. Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox commanded the Confederate troops that opposed the Union Sixth Corps on April 2. Only ten regiments of Wilcox's Division covered the mile-wide front across which the Federals attacked that morning. - Courtesy Library of Congress

In the hours before the Sixth Corps attack on April 2, 1865, the fields around you were filled with soldiers wondering what their fate would be.

Erected 2015 by Civil War Trust and Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is April 2, 1865.

Location. 37° 10.632′ N, 77° 27.586′ W.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 21, 2021

2. Petersburg Battlefields Marker

Union soldiers crossed the fields in front of the marker.

Marker is near Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County. It can be reached from the intersection of Church Road (Virginia Route 672) and Flank Road, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located on the Civil War Trust Breakthrough Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Petersburg Battlefields (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Petersburg Battlefields (approx. ¼ mile away); Life Between the Picket Lines

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 21, 2021

3. Petersburg Battlefields Marker

(approx. ¼ mile away); Battle of Jones Farm, March 25, 1865 (approx. 0.3 miles away); Contested Ground (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Petersburg Battlefields (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Largest Fort (approx. 0.4 miles away); Siege of Petersburg—Grant's Fifth Offensive (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Also see . . . Petersburg Breakthrough: The Fall of Petersburg. American Battlefield Trust (Submitted on October 26, 2021.)

Closeup of Map on the Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 21, 2021

4. Closeup of Map on the Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 25, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 596 times since then and 19 times this year. Last updated on February 16, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 25, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.