April 2026 Header Image: Fall of Petersburg

This month’s header image depicts Union soldiers attacking Confederate earthworks at Petersburg in April 1865. Grant’s inability to capture Richmond led to the 292 day siege of Petersburg, an important railroad junction that lies to the south. During the ten months of siege warfare, both sides faced artillery fire, limited supplies, illness, and periods of intense boredom. On April 2, 1865 Grant ordered his forces to launch an attack that further crippled Lee’s already diminished army, forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg. A week later, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.

This print from Kurz & Allison was created in 1893 and shows the dramatic conclusion of the longest siege of the Civil War. And check out the stereograph below, which shows a Union cannon mounted to an armored railroad car outside Petersburg!