Fort Tracy (2)
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Fort Tracy (2) (1864-1865) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort established in 1864 near Petersburg, Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Named Fort Tracy after Captain William Carter Tracy, 4th Vermont Volunteer Infantry, who was killed during the engagement on the Walden railroad at Petersburg, Virginia, 23 Jun 1864. Abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war. History of Fort TracyThe Union seige operations against the Confederate lines around Petersburg began in June 1864 as Confederate forces fell back to a defensive line around the city. Union forces began to build a continuous seige line around the Confederate lines capturing new ground to complete the encirclement. Fortifications included earthworks forts, gun batteries and entrenchments that allowed the Union forces to place "one man per yard" along the ever lengthening line. Fort Tracy was established in late 1864 or early 1865 as one of the last Union earthworks forts to be built along the Union seige line south of Petersburg, Virginia. The fort was situated some 400 yards west of Fort Keene and east of Fort Urmston and connected to both by entrenchments. Union and Confederate pickets were close enough at this point in the line to converse and trade personal items such as soft tack and tobacco. At the completion of Fort Tracy in January 1865 the Union line around Petersburg was 32 miles in length, with some 36 forts and 50 gun batteries. With the general advance of Union troops on 2 Apr 1865 toward Petersburg, the Confederate line was broken and overnight General Robert E. Lee withdrew his troops from Petersburg ending the seige on 3 Apr 1865. The whole of the Union army followed Lee toward Appomattox and in a series of actions that rendered escape impossible, Lee was forced to surrender on 9 Apr 1865. The seige line fortifications around Petersburg were effectively abandoned on or about 3 Apr 1865, some 9 months after the siege began and 6 days before the end of the war. Current StatusUnknown.
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