Selected Samples from the Siege of Petersburg Online: June 12, 1864
Item:NP: June 17, 1864 New York Herald: Grant The Movement Across The James
Description: The New York Herald gives a fairly solid account of Grant;s movement across the James, which started in earnest on June 12, 1864.
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Description: In another piece from the Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, Frank Peabody, son 1 of a Union colonel who was killed at the Battle of Shiloh, discusses the crossing of the James up to and including the first assaults during the Second Battle of Petersburg. The movement to the James began on June 12, 1864. Note that the articles are typically “coded” on this site. “MHSM Papers” stand for the Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, “NP” stands for newspapr articles, “LT” stands for letters, “DI” stands for diary entries, and so on.
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Item: NP: June 13, 1864 Richmond Examiner: General Lee’s Army, June 12, 5 P.M.
Description: The Richmond Examiner typically carried correspondent reports from Lee’s army. In this report, written at 5 pm on June 12, 1864, contains a nugget of wisdom:
“It is of course impossible to say what the next move will be. The scouts report that Grant is tearing up the York River railroad behind him, but surely this is a mistake. If, however, he is thus engaged, it is very clear that he is going to the Southside.”
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Item: NP: June 14, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: Defenses of Richmond, June 12
Description: The Inquirer is also focused on Richmond, fully expecting the next major battle to take place there, rather than south of the James. This article attempted to give readers a sense of what Grant’s army would come up against in an extended siege of Richmond.
Notes:
- Maybe? Peabody gained membership to the MHSM “by inheritance from Colonel Everett Peabody.” ↩