During the Siege of Petersburg 70,000 soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies were casualties of war. Many of these soldiers fighting in the trenches were killed, wounded or captured during this bitter nine-and-a-half month struggle.

Many of the injured and sick Confederate soldiers made the journey to Chimborazo, one of the largest Confederate field hospitals located in Richmond, Virginia. Others were treated in smaller hospitals in the Petersburg area that were established in old tobacco warehouses, where they could handle large numbers of patients.