Location of Fort Haskell, to the south of Forth Stedman, where the 100th Pennsylvania was positioned at the time of Gordon's early morning attack, March 25, 1865.  The Roundheads were camped at Fort Haskell and still in their bunks when the Confederates attacked.  During the attack and attempt to fight back, commanding officer Lt. Col. Joseph Pentecost was mortally wounded.   1999 photograph; courtesy of usa-civil-war.com website 

Fort Stedman:   "Then and Now"

Photographs taken at Petersburg National Battlefield Park, by Krista Karasinski, NPS Ranger, Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park.   Photograph commentary provided by Christopher L. Kolakowski, Historian and NPS Ranger, Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park
1. Fort Stedman from the northeast, near today's parking area.  This photograph shows the northern end of the fort, formerly Battery 10.  the Roundheads would have advanced from the left and pushed about a quarter of the way across this photo from left to right; the 200th and 209th Pa. advanced from where the picture is taken.
2. Fort Stedman from the eastern side of the works, looking south. This photo clearly shows the southern end of the fort. The Roundheads attacked the trenches in this photo. My guess is that this is the area where the two Medals of Honor were won.
3. The northwest bastion of Fort Stedman. This is a closeup of the cannon shown in photo #1. The cannon point west, toward the Confederate line. The 200th and 209th Pa. were engaged here.

4. A view of the same cannon from behind them looking west. Note: In all the photos, there are more and thicker trees than in 1865. The immediate area around the fort was much more open then.

Library of Congress Painting of Battle of Fort Stedman, March 25, 1865, Petersburg National Battlefield Park

100th Pennsylvania Approached from Fort Haskell through trenches visible in left portion of painting.  Spires of the Confederate City of Petersburg are visible in skyline (west) of Fort Stedman (center)


Photos of Fort Stedman taken shortly after the War


Artists sketch of the pre-dawn attack by Gordon's Confederates showing woodsmen chopping through the Union Army breastworks to create a path to Fort Stedman's works


Congressional Medal of Honor  Roundheads Joseph P. Chambers and Charles Oliver, who received their medals by their heroic actions at Fort Stedman.


Valley of the Shadow" webpage account of the Battle of Fort Stedman  from the perspective of the 207th Pennsylvania Regt. by 9th Corps Major General John G. Parke, at Fort Stedman from "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion"    The 207th Pa at Fort Stedman
 

A couple of years ago I put this marked up bird's eye aerial view from Bing.com maps showing Fort Stedman and the position of the 100th PA at the time of the March 25, 1865 battle.

 



Other Links to Fort Stedman Sites

Civil War Trust Fort Stedman Page This is a fantastic site full of information and maps related to Fort Stedman.  This page and many others like it for other Civil War battles is sponsored by Civil War Trust, an organization dedicated to Battlefield Preservation.

Panoramic View of Fort Stedman from Confederate's perspective (from brotherswar.com)

http://www.craterroad.com/fortstedman.html  A page created by craterroad.com.

http://www.beyondthecrater.com/. Brett Schulte's website/blog for all things related to the 1864-1865 Siege on Petersburg, including the Battle of Fort Stedman.

http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/stedman.html  John's Military History webpage on Fort Stedman

http://petersburgsiege.org/stedman.htm  Petersburgsiege.org webpage on Fort Stedman.

http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va084.htm  National Park Service (NPS) webpage on Fort Stedman

 

Publications with Good Coverage of Fort Stedman

Forgotten Valor:  The Memoirs, Journals and Civil War Letters of Orlando B. Willcox

Fred Ray's article in America's Civil War Magazine, "Pre-Dawn Assault on Fort Stedman"

 

 

 

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