Storming the Trenches at Petersburg, Battery G, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Welcome back to Mad Hatter's Civil War history. Before dawn, on April 2nd, 1865, a group of Union soldiers volunteered for a mission so dangerous it bordered on madness. They weren't infantry. They weren't cavalry. They were artillery men about to charge enemy fortifications without musketss, armed only with the tools of their trade. What they did next helped end the Civil War.

[00:00:45][music] Before dawn on April 2nd, 1865, on the outskirts of Petersburg, Virginia, a small group of Union soldiers prepared for one of the most dangerous missions of the entire war.

[00:01:02]They were not infantry storming a trench, nor cavalry riding down a road, but artillery men. Men trained to fire from behind the lines, about to charge headlong into fortified Confederate positions, armed with little more than the tools of their trade. Their objective was audacious. Capture enemy artillery at the moment of assault, turn the guns around, and fire back into the Confederate defenses while the battle still raged. That gamble helped break the Petersburg lines and set in motion the final collapse of the Confederacy.

[00:01:41]The man at the center of the story belonged to Battery G, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, a unit drawn from nearly every layer of the Ocean State society. Farmers from the countryside served beside fishermen, machinists, mill workers, sons of merchants, and recent immigrants. All had been trained in the same rigorous artillery tradition. They gave Rhode Island a reputation for producing some of the finest gunners in the Union Army.

[00:02:12]Organized in the fall of 1861, Battery G compiled a long and costly combat record. They fought on the Virginia Peninsula at Fair Oaks during the seven days at Antidum, Fredericksburg, Chancellor'sville, and in actions around Gettysburg. By the time they reached the Shannondoa Valley in 1864, they were hardened veterans.

[00:02:38]At Cedar Creek that October, Battery G was overrun in chaos of a surprise Confederate attack, losing men and guns before Union forces regrouped and achieved victory. The experience left an indelible mark on the unit.

[00:02:55]By early 1865, after winter reorganization and consolidation with another Rhode Island battery, Battery G returned to the trenches around Petersburg under the command of Captain George W. Adams, a seasoned combat officer known for discipline, calm under fire, and careful attention to his men.

[00:03:17]After nine months of siege, Lieutenant General Ulysis Srant sensed that the end was finally within reach. Confederate lines around Petersburg were stretched thin. Manpower was dwindling and desertions were mounting daily. If the system of trenches could be broken, Richmond would fall and with it the Confederate war effort. Grant ordered a general assault along the Petersburg front to begin before dawn on April 2nd, 1865.

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[00:05:33]Adams was warned of the danger.

[00:05:36]Artillery men advancing on foot without musketss would be exposed, vulnerable, and likely targeted. The captain did not retreat from the idea. He asked for volunteers. Every man stepped forward.

[00:05:50]From the whole battery, Adam selected 20. Shortly before midnight, Union artillery opened a massive bombardment along the Petersburg lines. The roar masked the sound of infantry columns forming silently in front of the Confederate trenches. Axemen prepared to cut through obstructions. Troops were ordered to load their musketss but not cap them to prevent accidental fire.

[00:06:18]Silence was enforced ruthlessly. Thick fog rolled through the trenches.

[00:06:23]Darkness made formation nearly impossible. Men could barely see one another. As the hour of attack approached, Adams gave his volunteers one last chance to withdraw. Three men stepped back. The rest took their places.

[00:06:43]At 4:40 a.m., the first signal gun thundered. Moments later, artillery across the entire Union front erupted, followed by a pause, then confusion as the infantry realization came that the bombardment itself was the signal. The six core surged forward into the darkness.

[00:07:05]Adam's men advanced alongside Vermont infantry, angling toward a ravine believed to be a weak point in the Confederate line. Almost immediately, the defenders responded. Artillery firing canister tore into the advancing columns. Men fell by the hundreds in minutes. Still, the assault pressed on.

[00:07:28]Union infantry swarmed the earthworks, firing a single volley before closing with bayonets.

[00:07:35]Behind them came Adams's canonners running through smoke, mud, and flying earth toward an enemy gun imp placement set near a swampy wood lot. Confederate defenders, North Carolinians under Brigadier General James Lane fought fiercely, but the breakthrough came fast. Vermont soldiers leapt into the fortifications and engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Within minutes, the Confederate gunners were gone. The moment Adams had gambled on arrived.

[00:08:08]Two heavy Confederate howitzers lay silent in the captured works. Union officers attempted to fire them, but lacked the necessary equipment. When Adams's men arrived, the battery position was turned over to them. Under fire, with wounded comrades being carried away, the Rhode Islanders went to work.

[00:08:30]They reversed the guns. They fired blank charges into the vents to ignite them.

[00:08:35]Then they blasted canister into retreating Confederate lines. Despite intense fire directed at the captured position, the remaining gunners, now just 13 men, stood their ground. As the sun rose over Petersburg, they continued loading, firing, and holding the breach while the Union reinforcements surged forward.

[00:08:59]In all, the Rhode Islanders fired nearly 100 rounds from the captured guns. The line held. The rupture of the Petersburg defenses could not be repaired. Union forces poured through the brereech, severing rail lines, capturing prisoners and forcing Glee into retreat. Within a week, the Army of Northern Virginia would surrender at Appamatics.

[00:09:25]Captain Adams nominated every man who entered the assault for the Medal of Honor.

[00:09:32]Though 17 were originally approved, bureaucratic confusion meant only seven ultimately received their awards. Some [snorts] years or even decades later, others were simply forgotten. Adams himself, who had planned and led the mission, received bre promotions, but never the medal. His pay remained that of a captain. Battery G's charge remains one of the most extraordinary artillery actions of the Civil War. Gunners advancing without musketss, capturing enemy guns by hand and turning them in the middle of battlefield, still alive with fire. The men of Battery G did not survive because they were reckless. They survived because they were disciplined, trained, and resolute, and because their gamble succeeded. Today, the site where they charged lies preserved near Petersburg. It's one of the most decorated pieces of ground in American military history, and it stands as a reminder that sometimes wars are decided not by masked armies alone, but by a handful of soldiers willing to charge into the dark.

[00:10:50]Thanks for watching this episode of Mad Hatter: Civil War History. Like, follow, and click the bell for notifications to ensure you see all of the latest content. As always, let me know if there's any other important events of the American Civil War you would like me to address.