Hearing the call to duty, citizens of both the North and South volunteered their services in support of their respective causes. Some fought as soldiers, while others worked on the home front, behind the lines, where they provided necessary medical care and support. During the nine-and-a-half month siege, Petersburg became a hub of activity, where tobacco warehouses became hospitals and farmland was transformed into battlegrounds marked by miles of trenches. Here, the duties of an infantry soldier, an artillery soldier, an engineer and a surgeon were critical to the success and survival of both armies.

Explore these profiles of duty along the Eastern Front using the links below.