Confederate Fort Gregg wayside marker

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Stop 4 on the Petersburg National Battlefield Western Front Auto TourThe “Confederate Fort Gregg” wayside marker is at Stop Four on the Petersburg Western Front Auto Tour.  (see map below)

The 'Confederate Fort Gregg' wayside marker on the Petersburg National battlefield

Text from the marker:

Confederate Fort Gregg

 “Men, the salvation of Lee’s army is in your keeping.”
– Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox to the defenders of Fort Gregg, April 2, 1865

On the afternoon of April 2, 1865, after a morning of bludgeoning attacks all along the Petersburg lines, 5,000 Federals swept forward to attack Fort Gregg. The 300 Confederates here twice drove the Federals back, but finally the attackers reached the fort’s parapet. For twenty minutes a vicious hand-to-hand battle raged.

At fight’s end, the fort belonged to the Federals. Only 44 Confederates survived the battle unscathed. With the fall of Fort Gregg and nearby Fort Whitworth, the Confederates pulled back to their last, innermost line. The two hours gained by Fort Gregg’s defenders allowed Lee to evacuate Petersburg safely that night.

Caption to the painting:

At the climax of the fight, about a dozen Federals leveled their guns at Confederate cannoneer Pvt. Lawrence Berry ‘Drop the lanyard or we’ll shoot,’ they yelled. ‘Shoot and be dammed,’ Berry yelled back as he fired the cannon. He in turn fell in a blast of Union gunfire. Berry is shown in the center of this painting.

Location of the marker

The “Confederate Fort Gregg” wayside marker is on the north side of the fort’s earthworks, which can be reached from the parking area by a 300 yard walking trail. (37° 11.883′ N, 77° 27.015′ W)