Although Ulysses S. Grant’s final campaign against Robert E. Lee is sometimes referred to as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not, by definition, a genuine siege, though Grant did have Lee’s army with its back against the Appomattox River.
Grant’s siege started on June 15, 1864 and ended on April 2, 1865. The two commanders fought several battles around Petersburg, Virginia during these months. Grant’s maneuvers and attacks stretched Lee’s defenses thinner and thinner till at last, only one escape route remained open—a road north which Lee finally took.
Once Petersburg fell, Richmond fell soon thereafter. However, thanks to Lee’s earlier warning via telegraph, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had fled the Rebel capital.
If Petersburg wasn’t the Civil War’s longest genuine siege, then, where did that event happen? In the village of Port Hudson, Louisiana, a small rebel garrison on the Mississippi River. Totally surrounded by a vastly superior Union army and its navy, the garrison held out for 48 days. It surrendered on July 9, 1863, five days after Vicksburg surrendered.
Against the backdrop of this siege, I tell the story of Squire, a canine mascot for an Alabama regiment. While men in blue and gray fight and die Squire battles his own enemies, humans and beasts. Squire, Tales of a Mascot is scheduled for release this coming fall, 2019. As the release date draws nearer, I’ll be sharing more on the siege of Port Hudson as well as tidbits from the book.
I hope everyone will enjoy it.
