1000046717

From LiDAR America & Hidden Archaeology📌 Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield—Fort Fisher—Fort Conahey—Fort Wheaton/Archer—Fort Welch of Petersburg, VA📍37°10'31.55"N 77°27'13.68"WThis ground formed part of the extensive siege lines surrounding Petersburg—an interconnected system of trenches, redans, forts, and artillery positions stretching over 30 miles. In this sector, the Confederate works consisted of zigzag trenches, fortified angles, and supporting batteries, while opposing Union lines sat just a few hundred yards away across open ground scarred by months of fighting.On April 2, 1865, Union forces launched a massive assault here, breaking through the Confederate line after overwhelming pressure along a front nearly 3 miles wide. Key positions became focal points of desperate resistance, but once the line collapsed, the fall of Petersburg and Richmond followed within days. LiDAR imagery today captures the surviving trench lines, fort outlines, and subtle battlefield scars with remarkable clarity—preserving the terrain exactly where the Army of Northern Virginia was forced into retreat, where the ground itself still tells the story of a line that held until it suddenly didn’t, and the moment the war began to end.