Richmond in the American Civil War Richmond in the American Civil War Richmond, Virginia, served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for almost the whole of the American Civil War. It was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war effort, and the terminus of five railroads. The Union made many attempts to invade Richmond. In the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, General George McClellan moved up the James River, almost to the suburbs of the city, but was beaten back by Robert E. Lee in the Seven Days Battles. In 1864-5, General U.S. Grant laid siege to nearby Petersburg, whose evacuation
Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1864 Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1864 The following engagements took place in the year 1864 during the American Civil War. The Union armies, under the command of U.S. Grant, launched multiple offenses in all theaters of the war, in an attempt to prevent Confederate forces from transferring troops from one army to another. In March, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed general-in-chief of the Union Army. He decided on a strategy of simultaneous offenses in the Eastern, Western, and Trans-Mississippi Theaters in order to grind down and ultimately defeat the Confederate armies. Grant himself