A North Carolina soldier named P. B. “Bangs” Heptinstall after complaining in a letter written in late February about the large number of deserters from Lee’s army, concluded with the observation, “I believe that Gen. Lee is doubting his troops for he is having all the tobacco in the city piled in sheds and houses of but little value so that the torch can be applied to a great deal in a short time.”

Philmer Bangs Heptinstall, 1839-3/25/1865, son of Reverend John Wesley Heptinstall, was killed in action in Petersburg.

The Last Citadel, Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865 by Noah Andre Trudeau ISBN 978-1-61121-212-9