Canister Shot from Petersburg, Virginia/ SOLD
Lot of three 1” iron canister shot balls from an old dug relic collection, mounted in a cardboard box with clear plastic cover. They were recovered from the site of a Confederate ammunition dump at Petersburg, Virginia. The Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 1864 to April 2, 1865. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted, and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines. Lee finally gave into the pressure and abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I, earning it a prominent position in military history.
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