WHILE Sherman was marching from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia, on his famous march to the sea, Grant was laying siege on Petersburg, Virginia, twenty-two miles south of Richmond. This was the central point for five railroads, giving communication with the Carolinas and Southern Virginia. Its possession by Federal troops would cut off Richmond and force the evacuation of the Confederate Capital. Lee was strongly intrenched around Petersburg. For a time during the summer there was hot fighting every hour in the day and frequently far into the night. The two armies were ready to fight to a finish. The Union Army was preparing itself for the final stroke and the conflicts were constant. It was during this campaign that the battles of New Market Heights and Cedar Creek were fought and Sheridan made his famous ride down the Shenandoah Valley to Winchester. Grant's base of supplies was at City Point on the James River. On the ninth day of August, in 1864, there was an explosion of the ordnance barges and a war camera was hurried to the scene and secured this negative on the same day. At the same time, while General Grant was in conference with his staff in his tent at the army headquarters, the war photographers secured the picture shown on the preceding page. The general may be seen in the center of the group, sitting in the chair, with his hat characteristically pushed back on his head and his legs crossed. This is an interesting negative. [Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN FORT NEGLEY AT NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, SHOWING IRONCLAD CASEMATES, IN 1864]