A Final Effort
Desperate to relieve the Union noose strangling Petersburg, on March 25, 1865, General Lee used pre-dawn darkness and stealth to pierce the Union Line here at Fort Steadman.
“We were very much elated at first, as we thought we had won a great victory.”
- Capt. R.D. Funkhouser, 4th Virginia
Though initially successful, the attack soon lost momentum. Union reinforcements arrived and counterattacked. The Confederates fell back over and into the Fort; hundreds were killed or captured.
Never again would Robert E. Lee launch a major offensive. A week later Petersburg would fall.
Marker is on Siege Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
