Confederate Alamo of the East - Fort Gregg, Petersburg, VA (5,000 vs 300)

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The “Alamo of the East” or “Confederate Alamo” occurred this day in history on April 2, 1865. As explained on the historical marker, it was here that 5,000 Yankee Federals swept forward to attack just 300 southern Americans/Confederates who were trapped and surrounded with the homes and city they were defending to their backs. Just the day before, Grant’s 63,000 Union soldiers had attacked and overwhelmed the 18,500 southern defenders of Petersburg, causing the fall of that historic city that had been under siege for nearly 10 months. As the marker explains, the 300 southerners managed to repulse three successive attacks before they were finally overwhelmed by the sheer numbers; “the attackers reached the fort’s parapet. For twenty minutes a vicious hand-to-hand battle raged.” Veterans of the entire war called it “the most savage fighting I have ever experienced.”

The book “Confederate Alamo” states, the Confederates “Homeric (heroic) defense is an apt description of that day.” While southern Americans “faced odds of 1 vs 13, the Texas Alamo faced odds of 1 vs 10… To give Lee time to escape a force +3X his size, a small motley group of threadbare Southerners made a suicidal last stand at a placed called Fort Gregg.” The fighting was so brutal, Union Corporal Norton said, “Union and rebel soldiers were found dead in each other’s grasp” and General Gibbons, observed, “the struggle was one of the most desperate ever witnessed.” When the day was done, approx 800 Yankees lay dead or wounded (about triple the number of Confederates in the Fort) while only about 30 Confederates survived unscathed (about 90% casualty rate).

The following unique additional lyric in this Bonnie Blue Flag song really helps capture the sacrifice at places like Fort Gregg. At 3:11: "We're fighting for our Mothers, our Sisters, and our wives. For these and our country's rights, we'll sacrifice our lives."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fva9GUO5EI

Also, this famous song is tied to this moment… “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW1Cv42xzYk


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ADDITIONAL READING:

Book: The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865:
https://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Alamo-Bloodbath-Petersburgs-Gregg-ebook/dp/B00KEURQ94/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1617405897&sr=8-1

Confederate Fort Gregg Historical Marker:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7749

Confederate Alamo:
https://www.historynet.com/confederate-alamo-outnumbered-rebels-petersburg.htm

Fort Gregg: “Men, the salvation of the army is in your keep. Don’t surrender this fort.”
https://www.us-civilwar.com/battle-of-fort-gregg/

Fort Gregg: Stone Marker:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7751

Siege of Petersburg – Grant’s Eighth Offensive, Fall of Petersburg and Richmond:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=78094


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Location: Petersburg, VA, USA

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