Editing Siege of Petersburg (section)

===Serving the Confederacy===
When Petersburg became a major supply center for the newly formed Confederacy and its nearby capital in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], both freedmen and slaves were employed in various war functions, one of which was working for the numerous railroad companies that operated in and out of the city. In 1862 Captain [[Charles Dimmock]] used freedmen and slave labor to construct a ten-mile long defensive line of [[trenches]] and batteries around the city.<ref name=NPS/>

Once the siege began in June, African Americans continued working for the Confederacy. In September, Lee asked for an additional 2,000 blacks to be added to his labor force. On January 11, 1865, Lee wrote the Confederate Congress urging them to pass pending legislation to arm and enlist black slaves in exchange for their freedom. On March 13, the [[Confederate Congress]] passed legislation to raise and enlist companies of black soldiers.<ref name=NPS/> The legislation was then promulgated into military policy by Davis in [[General Order No. 14]] on March 23.<ref name=OR>Official Records, Series IV, Vol. III, pp. 1161–62</ref> The emancipation offered, however, was still reliant upon one's master agreement; "no slave will be accepted as a recruit unless with his own consent and with the approbation of his master by a written instrument conferring, as far as he may, the rights of a [[freedman]]".<ref name=OR/>