The Largest Fort
Fort Fisher was the largest of the more than 30 forts that studded the Union siege lines. It included nearly 2,000 feet of parapet and could mount 19 guns. The boom of a single gun in this fort on the morning of April 2, 1865, portended the fall of Petersburg. That solitary shot signaled the opening of the final Union assaults on the city.
“When the signal sounded the entire Corps, notwithstanding the orders to keep silent, sent up a mighty cheer and then dashed forward into the fog.”
- Lt. Col. Elisha H. Rhodes, 2nd R.I. April 2, 1865
Courtesy hmdb.org
