of the James. Generals R.
S. Ewell, R. H. Anderson, A. P. Hill, and John B. Gordon commanded
corps of the Army of Northern Virginia south of Petersburg and the
James, the whole under Lee. At the last, Ewell commanded in Richmond
and its immediate defences. The Confederates had water-batteries
and naval forces on the James immediately below Richmond. Their
forts and connecting breastworks had been laid out and constructed
by skilled engineers, on a gigantic scale, with months, and, in
some places, years of labor. On most of the main line there were
enclosed field-forts, a distance of a quarter to a half mile apart,
connected by strong earthworks and some masonry, the whole having
deep ditches in front, the approaches to which were covered by
_abattis_ composed of pickets sunk deep in the ground close together,
the exposed ends sharpened, and placed at an angle of about forty-
five degrees, the points of the pickets about the height of a man's
face. There were in place _chevaux-de-frise_ and other obstructions.
These fortifications could not be battered down by artillery; they
had to be scaled. They contained many guns ranging from 6 to 200-
pounders, all well manned. The Union lines conformed, generally,
to the Confederate lines and were near to them, but, being the
outer, were necessarily the longer. Richmond and Petersburg were
twenty miles apart. The Union works were substantially of the same
structure and strength as the Confederate.

Forts Welch, Gregg, and Fisher, and connecting works, held by six
of my regiments, formed a loop on the extreme left, to prevent a
flank attack. These forts were about nine miles from City Point,
Grant's headquarters. In the centre of the loop was a high
observation tower.( 1) In our front the Confederates had an outer
line of works to cover their pickets, and we had a similar one to
protect ours. The main lines were, generally, in easy cannon range,
in most places within musket range, and the pickets of the two
armies were, for the most part, in speaking distance, and the men
often indulged in talking, for pastime. Except in rare instances
the sentinels did not fire on each other by day, but sometimes at
night firing was kept up by the Confederates at intervals to prevent
desertion. During the last months of the siege, circulars were
issued by Grant offering to pay deserters for arms, accoutrements,
and any other military supplies they would bring with them, and to
gi