A. WILSON GREENE
speaks about
speaks about
"The Petersburg Campaign"
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Presentation to the
Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia
at the Fort Myer Officers' Club in Arlington, VA
on March 12, 2019
The images used during his presentation are available by clicking HERE or at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kPAf2RVwzv4cB_Z1ugRbEs2inlJcW4Eo
Mr. Greene attended Florida State University and graduated in 1972 with a BA degree in American history. He went on to graduate school at Louisiana State University where he studied under the well-known American historian, T. Harry Williams. After college, Greene went to work for the National Park Service as a historian and park ranger. He left the National Park Service in 1990 to become the first director of the newly formed Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, now called the American Battlefield Trust.
The images used during his presentation are available by clicking HERE or at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kPAf2RVwzv4cB_Z1ugRbEs2inlJcW4Eo
About the Topic:
Mr. Greene's topic will be the second of Ulysses S. Grant's eight offenses against Petersburg.
The Second Offense, beginning on June 20, 1864, was part of Grant's master plan for enveloping the Confederate right and cutting the Petersburg and Southside Railroads. The maneuver involved primarily the Union's Second and Sixth Corps with most of the fighting taking place along the Jerusalem Plank Road.
The fighting ended on June 23 without achieving Grant's objectives. Both Union corps were badly mauled and 2,200 Union soldiers were captured, most of them destined for Andersonville prison.
Another facet of the Second Offensive involved Union cavalry under generals James Wilson and August Kautz. Grant's directive to the generals was to conduct an extensive raid against Lee's railroad communications south of the James River. At dawn on June 22, about 5,500 troopers swung into their saddles and began what would be a three hundred mile, ten day campaign of hard riding and fighting in no less than four separate cavalry battles.
The raid succeeded in destroying many miles of track, but only temporarily. Wilson and Kautz lost about 900 troopers. most of whom were captured during the raid's final engagement at Ream's Station on June 29.
About the Speaker:
A. Wilson Greene is one of the nation's preeminent public historians and is widely recognized as the expert historian on the longest campaign of the Civil War: the 292-day siege of Petersburg, Virginia, which lasted from the summer of 1864 through the spring of 1865.
Mr. Greene served for 22 years as the executive director of Pamplin Historical Park and the Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg. Pamplin Historical Park is a 424-acre, privately funded, historical park which contains the site of the Union breakthrough of Confederate defensive lines protecting Richmond and Petersburg on April 2, 1865. One week later, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac at Appomattox Courthouse, effectively ending the Civil War in the eastern theater.
Mr. Greene attended Florida State University and graduated in 1972 with a BA degree in American history. He went on to graduate school at Louisiana State University where he studied under the well-known American historian, T. Harry Williams. After college, Greene went to work for the National Park Service as a historian and park ranger. He left the National Park Service in 1990 to become the first director of the newly formed Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, now called the American Battlefield Trust.
Because he was a well-known Civil War historian, Mr. Greene was selected as a script reviewer for the 1993 feature film "Gettysburg" and later as historical adviser for the sequel film, "Gods and Generals." In 1995, he became the first executive director of Pamplin Historical Park.
Mr. Greene retired in 2017 to devote his time to research, writing, and leading Civil War battlefield tours. He has published numerous books and articles on Civil War topics. Mr. Greene recently completed A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg From the Crossing of the James to the Crater. It is the first of a projected three volume study of the Petersburg Campaign.
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