Transcript The military importance of Richmond during the civil war

The Military
Importance of
Richmond during
the Civil War
GEORGE SANDRIDGE
Background

Richmond played a key role in both the Virginia and the
U.S. economy

It was home to numerous industries such as grain,
tobacco, and iron production

It was home to the Tredegar Ironworks, which was the
largest ironworks in the South

It had a population of 37,910, which was 25th in the
nation
Start of the war

Richmond, like most Southern cities, opposed secession due
to economic reasons

The industries in Richmond relied on Northern merchants to
buy their goods

If Virginia seceded, then all ties with Northern merchants
would be cut


This would affect both the Northern merchants and the
Southern factories
Eventually, after President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers,
Virginia voted to secede on April 17, 1861
Political importance

Original capital of the Confederacy was in Montgomery, Alabama

Moved to Richmond to convince hesitant Virginians to join the
Confederate cause

“Command center” for the South’s war efforts

Only downside was that Richmond was only 100 miles from the
Union capital, Washington D.C.

Union commanders knew that the fall of Richmond would result in
the fall of the Confederacy

Resulted in numerous attempts by the Union army to take the city
later on in the war
Economic Importance:
Manufacturing

Prior to the war, factories in Richmond made goods to sell to both
Southern and Northern merchants

Once the war started, factories switched to making goods for the
Confederate military

The Tredegar Ironworks became the main producer of metal items
for the Confederacy


Armor plates, bullets, artillery, etc.
Other smaller factories produced everything from swords and
bayonets to tents and uniforms
Economic Importance: Railroads

Richmond was the terminus of five major railroads:

The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, the Virginia
Central Railroad, the Richmond and York River Railroad, the Richmond
and Petersburg Railroad, and the Richmond and Danville Railroad

These railroads were vital in supplying the Confederates with
materials needed to fight

As the Union army advanced south, they burnt almost every railroad
they came to

By 1865, the Confederacy had very few remaining railroad lines
Defense of Richmond

Due to its importance to the Confederacy, Richmond was a
constant target for Union military campaigns

Most advances by the Union army were turned away by
Confederate defenses near the city

In 1862, the Union army got within 4 miles of the city limits before
General Lee turned them away during the Seven Days’ Battle

This showed that the Union army had the possibility to attack Richmond
Before The Siege

In the summer of 1864, the Union army began the Overland
Campaign

Newly appointed General Ulysses S. Grant was ordered to target
General Lee’s troops instead of Richmond

However, Lee’s army was defending Richmond since it was his
supply route

After marching down through Northern Virginia, the Union army
flanked Lee and his men and settled in Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg

After settling in Petersburg, the 100,000 man Union army began a 9
½ month siege that lasted from June 1864 to March 1865

During the first few days of the siege, Grant ordered several assaults
on the Petersburg defenses made up of 20,000 Confederates

Eventually, Grant realized that further assaults would be useless, so
he ordered his troops to dig in

The war soon became a stalemate as each side engaged in trench
warfare
Trench Warfare
Battles

There were 30 battles
fought within a 40 mile
radius of Richmond
during the Siege of
Petersburg

There were numerous
other battles that were
important to the siege
that were farther away
Battle of Staunton River Bridge

During the Siege of Petersburg, General Lee depended on the
Richmond and Danville Railroad to move supplies to his location

The R&D Railroad ran through Roanoke Station (Randolph), which
was guarded by a small unit of less than 1,000 men
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A Union cavalry division broke off from the main force in Petersburg
to destroy the bridge

Upon arrival, the Union commanders organized several assaults to
nullify the defenses and destroy the bridge

Each assault failed, and eventually Union General James Wilson
ordered the men to retreat back to Petersburg

After the battle, the 492 volunteers became known as the “Old Men
and Young Boys” Brigade
Evacuation of Richmond

After 9 ½ months of fighting, the right flank of the Confederate
defenses around Petersburg gave way

Seeing this, Grant ordered an all-out assault on the remaining
defenses

Soon, Lee ordered his men to retreat to Richmond, where they
marched around Grant and towards Appomattox

Prior to the fall of the defenses, Confederate officials ordered the
evacuation of Richmond

After evacuation, the officials ordered all warehouses and supply
depots to be burned

The fire spread rapidly through the city’s business and industrial
districts, rendering them useless to Union soldiers

One week after the evacuation, Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse
Bibliography

"A Guide to the Tredegar Ironworks." Library of Virginia. Accessed November 25, 2015.
http://ead.lib.virginia.edu.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi00494.xml
;query=;.

"Civil War Sites in Virginia." National Park Service. Accessed November 25, 2015.
http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va64inset.htm.

DeCredico, Mary, and Jaime Amanda Martinez. "Richmond during the Civil War."
Encyclopedia Virginia. October 27, 2015. Accessed November 25, 2015.
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/richmond_during_the_civil_war.

"Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1860." U.S. Bureau of the Census. June 15,
1998. Accessed November 25, 2015.
https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt.

"Railroads of the Confederacy." Civil War Trust. 2014. Accessed November 25, 2015.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-andlogistics/logistics/railroads.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/.

"Siege of Petersburg Begins." History.com. 2010. Accessed November 25, 2015.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-petersburg-begins.
Picture Citations
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Picture 1:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Alexander_Gardner_-_1865__Tredegar_(Detail_of_iron_works).jpg
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Picture 2:
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/rail/graphics/appo.png
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Picture 3:
http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/maps/virginia_6162.jpg
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Picture 4:
http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/files/images/HD_Petersburg18Jun64WPz.previe
w.jpg
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Picture 5:
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/petersburg/petersburg-trenches-700px.jpg
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Picture 6:
http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/maps/va64_inset.jpg
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Picture 7:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Wilson-Kautz_Raid.png
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Picture 8:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/RichmondVA_1865_SkylineP
anorama_AcrosstheJames.png