Public Lecture: Siege of Petersburg June 1864 to April 1865

Joint presentation by the Military History Society of New South Wales and the American Civil War Roundtable, NSW Chapter.

The American Civil War raged from April 1861 to June 1865. It killed an astonishing proportion of the American population.

There were several armies conducting several battles and campaigns in various states during the nine and a half months that Petersburg, only about 20 miles (or approximately 35 kilometres) south of the Confederate capitol at Richmond in Virginia, was said to be under siege. It was not technically a siege, as it was never surrounded, but it was a portend of what was to happen in Europe 50 years later. The campaign at Petersburg did not kill as many people as other battles of the war but it accounted for a long period of time and its outcome was of huge political significance. Lifting of the siege signalled the end of the American Civil War shortly thereafter.

Speaker – Ian McIntyre

Ian McIntyre is President of The American Civil War Roundtable, NSW Chapter.

He is a semi-retired Civil Engineer who was a Planning Engineer, Project Engineer and Project Manager on heavy multi-disciplinary projects for a major construction contractor and then, for 30 years, Principal of a well known Construction Consultancy. Retirement has included a continuing part time involvement in the infrastructure industry, particularly as an expert witness and also as President of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, Region 3 (Australia and New Zealand).

He has often said that, if he had not become an engineer, he would probably have become an academic historian.

This program is presented jointly by the Military History Society of New South Wales and the American Civil War Roundtable, NSW Chapter.