001 Jerusalem Plank I, June 9th, 1864 - WDS Campaign Petersburg

By early June 1864, neither Union nor Confederate generals were prepared for what would later become the longest siege of the Civil War. In fact, only a handful of regular troops were entrusted with the defense of Petersburg. Rather, it was the militia, old men, and young boys that become the first line of defense against the Union invaders during these early days of the siege. With this in mind, Union Major General Benjamin Butler developed a plan that would seal the fate of both Petersburg, and Richmond. And with the loss of these two cities, the doom of the Confederacy was certain. The plan was simple, penetrate the city defenses at three points, and burn the bridges across the Appomattox River. Doing this would cut off Richmond from it's rail supplies and make Petersburg unreachable by Lee's main army. This scenario focuses on the Union attack led by August Kautz's 1300 cavalry against a small 170 man detachment of Petersburg Militia, led by Major Fletcher Archer, defending the Jerusalem Plank Road. The militia must hold long enough for additional troops and artillery to arrive, or all is lost. The fate of the Confederacy is in the hands of 170 odd old men and young boys!