| Virginia, Petersburg — “A Splendid Charge” |
| | Here at Petersburg on June 15, 1864, African-American troops recorded their first major success of the war in Virginia. “They made a splendid charge…and won great favor in the eyes of white soldiers by their courage and bravery.” - Wilbur Fiske, 2nd Vermont Infantry June 19, 1864 After the capture of Battery 5, some of the 3,500 black troops swept southward, routing Confederates before them. At dusk, they charged on Battery 9 and swarmed over the works. During two . . . — Map (db m7075) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — “A Stupendous Failure” |
| | “It is agreed that the thing was a perfect success, except that it did not succeed.” - Major Charles F. Adams, Jr., USA The explosion cleared the Union path to Petersburg. But instead of pushing through, the first waves of Union attackers simply stood at the Crater, gawking at the incredible scene. Union hesitation allowed the Confederates to regroup. Southern batteries fired from right and left; the Federals crowded into the Crater for protection. A thin line of . . . — Map (db m7061) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — A Fatal Error |
| | A division of African-American troops in Burnside’s Ninth Corps was to have led the attack that followed the explosion of the mine. But just hours before the assault, Union army commander George G. Meade changed the plan. The result: chaos and tragedy.
For weeks the black troops had rehearsed their role as spearhead of the assault. But late on July 29, fearing public outcry should the African-American troops suffer heavy casualties, Meade ordered Burnside to pick another, all-white . . . — Map (db m7052) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — A Final Effort |
| | Desperate to relieve the Union noose strangling Petersburg, on March 25, 1865, General Lee used pre-dawn darkness and stealth to pierce the Union Line here at Fort Steadman. “We were very much elated at first, as we thought we had won a great victory.” - Capt. R.D. Funkhouser, 4th Virginia Though initially successful, the attack soon lost momentum. Union reinforcements arrived and counterattacked. The Confederates fell back over and into the Fort; hundreds were killed . . . — Map (db m7035) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Artillery at Petersburg |
| | "The campaign became quite scientific, so that after the first few weeks, we learned to tell by the sound the nature of every missile that passed over us, and knew which ones to dodge. The mortar shells had the most terror for us. The ordinary field-pieces or siege-guns that threw shells directly through the air did not disturb us much, as we lay behind our breastworks." Theodore Gerrish, 20th Maine Infantry In front of you are just some of the types of cannon used in the Civil War. . . . — Map (db m14602) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 9 — Battersea |
| | Battersea was the home of Colonel John Banister, a member of the House of Burgesses, the Revolutionary conventions, and the Continental Congress, as well as a framer of the Articles of Confederation and the first mayor of Petersburg. The elegant but compact house begun in 1768, perhaps best displays the Anglo-Palladian influence on Virginia's colonial plantation homes. Noted travelers, including the Italian Count Castiglioni and the French Marquis de Chastellux visted Battersea: Chastellux . . . — Map (db m17624) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 31 — Confederate Defense Line |
| | Part of the original Confederate defense line constructed in 1862 – 1863. On April 2, 1865, the battery located in this position took part in stopping a heavy Union attack at Fort Mahone, one third of a mile east. Severe fighting continued until nightfall when the battery was withdrawn. — Map (db m17504) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 45 |
| | Salient of Confederate Line Siege of Petersburg ---------- Erected Apr. 2, 1914 By A.P. Hill Camp S.C.V. — Map (db m7994) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line |
| | In 1862 – two years before the first Federals appeared at the city’s gates – Confederate Captain Charles Dimmock oversaw the construction of a ten-mile line of defensive works ringing Petersburg. In front of you is Battery 5 one of the largest of the fifty-five artillery positions in the Dimmock Line. Most of the works you see at Battery 5 were built by slaves. The parapet to your left, shown on the diagram to your right in blue, was added by the Federals after the battle here on . . . — Map (db m6899) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 5 Trail |
| | On the ground before you the first major attacks against Petersburg occurred. This bloodletting marked the beginning of nine months of siege. This 0.6-mile trail will take you through Battery 5 of the Confederate Dimmock Line, captured by the Federals on June 15, 1864. Along the way you will also see the position of the famous Union mortar, the "Dictator." The walk includes a set of stairs and a moderate (10% slope). Mobility-impaired visitors can reach the position of the "Dictator" by taking the right fork of the trail. — Map (db m14601) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battery 8 of the Dimmock Line |
| | On June 15, 1864, after seizing Battery 5, Union troops swept southward along the Dimmock Line. Men of the 1st and 22nd Colored Troops captured Battery 8, overcoming heavy resistance from part of Brig. Gen. Henry A. Wise’s Virginia brigade. By the morning of June 16, the 1.5 miles of Confederate works between Batteries 3 and 11 were in Union hands. After capturing this section of the Dimmock Line, the Federals incorporated parts of it, including Battery 8, into a second line of siege works. . . . — Map (db m7029) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 12 — Battle of Petersburg |
| | Here was fought the Battle of Petersburg, April 25, 1781. The Southside Militia, 1000 strong and commanded by Baron Steuben and General Muhlenberg, made a brave resistance to 2500 British Regulars under Phillips and Arnold. — Map (db m6540) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battle of Petersburg |
| | From Blandford Heights to Pocahontas Bridge April 25, 1781 Here was fought the opening engagement of the decisive campaign of the revolution. 1000 American militia under Steuben, Muhlenberg, Dick and House opposed 2500 British under Phillips, Arnold and Abercrombie. Erected by Frances Bland Randolph Chapter D.A.R. July 1927. — Map (db m6543) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 20 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — Artillery Position |
| | On 25 Apr. 1781, Maj. Gen. Friedrich von Steuben’s 1,000 Virginia militiamen, driven from the eastern edge of Blandford, established a strong defensive line along the western summit (now Madison Street) above Lieutenant Run valley. Maj. Gen. William Phillips’s British force occupied this ridge from here to the Appomattox River. After several unsuccessful infantry attacks, Phillips placed four artillery pieces here and fired on the American line. Facing this threat, and with American ammunition . . . — Map (db m14546) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 21 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — British Line of Attack |
| | On 24 Apr. 1781, Maj. Gen. William Phillips’s force of 2,500 British regulars landed at City Point, 12 miles to the east on the James River, as part of a major campaign to disrupt the American force’s main line of communication through Virginia. The next morning, Phillips marched his troops along River Road toward Petersburg. Shortly before noon, he and Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold formed their line of battle in this vicinity and launched their attack on the first line of 500 Virginia militiamen . . . — Map (db m14552) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 24 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — Flanking Movement |
| | About midday on 25 April 1781, Maj. Gen. William Phillips discovered that the right flank of the American militia, on the edge of Blandford was vulnerable to attack from the south and rear. He ordered Lt. Col. John Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers and a Light Infantry battalion to the south and west on a wide sweep around the flank to attack the Virginians from the rear. Simcoe took this nearby route (now Graham Road) between present-day Crater Road and Sycamore Street, thus moving his large force . . . — Map (db m14558) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 22 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — East Hill |
| | To the west stood East Hill (Bollingbrook), home of the widow Mary Marshall Tabb Bolling. After the 25 Apr. 1781 Battle of Petersburg, British Maj. Gen. William Phillips and Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold located their headquarters at the house. The British reoccupied it on 9 May, after returning from Richmond. The following day, Maj. Gen. Lafayette shelled Petersburg, from the heights on the north bank of the Appomattox River. After becoming gravely ill, Phillips died there on 13 May. Lieut. Gen. . . . — Map (db m17633) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 23 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — First Line Of Defense |
| | On 25 Apr. 1781, American Brig. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg formed his first line of 500 Virginia militia here to meet the British. The line extended along East Street from the Appomattox River to present-day Washington Street and consisted of two infantry regiments. Maj. Gen. William Phillips' 2,500-man army, including one Light Infantry battalion and the 76th and 80th Regiments of Foot, struck the Americans here. After several assaults and the deployment of four British cannon, the militia withdrew . . . — Map (db m17634) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 25 — Battle of Petersburg — 25 April 1781 — Second Line Of Defense |
| | On 25 Apr. 1781, American Brig. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg’s Virginia militia fell back west from Blandford, under heavy British fire, to a prepared line of defense here along the crest of this hill. This second line of Virginia militia, consisting of four regiments of infantry, extended from the Appomattox River on the north and present-day Washington Street to the south of here. The Virginians repelled several British assaults, but soon their ammunition ran low and, after Maj. Gen. William . . . — Map (db m17635) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Battle of the Crater - Covered Way |
| | At this place located by participants in the Battle of the Crater, this road, known as the Jerusalem Plank Road, was crossed by a covered way leading eastwardly to the ravine in rear of the Confederate breastworks which run northwardly from the Crater. By this covered way about 8 o’clock on the morning of July 30th 1864, nearly 4 hours after the explosion, the Confederate troops under Gen. WM. Mahone approached the ravine from which they charged and recaptured the breastworks.
This . . . — Map (db m17579) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Blandford Church — In Harm’s Way |
| | This church, built circa 1737, was in ruins at the time of the Civil War. Nonetheless, located behind Gracie’s, Colquitt’s and Elliott’s Salients in the Confederate defense lines, the structure served as a temporary field hospital during the Petersburg siege. After the explosion of a Union mine at The Crater July 30, 1864, Confederate Gen. William Mahone rushed three brigades through here to blunt the Federal advance. Months later, in the early morning of March 25, 1865, Confederate Gen. John . . . — Map (db m6516) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 11 — Blandford Church and Cemetery |
| | The brick church on Well’s Hill, now known as Old Blandford Church, was built between 1734 and 1737, the British General Phillips was buried in the churchyard in 1781. In the cemetery is a monument to Captain McRae and the Petersburg Volunteers, who at Fort Meigs in 1813 won for Petersburg the name of the “Cockade City of the Union.” Soldiers of six wars rest here, among them 30,000 Confederates. — Map (db m6538) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 8 — Bollingbrook Hotel |
| | After a fire destroyed John Niblo's tavern in 1827, Niblo assembled a group of investors who constructed on this site in 1828 the three-story Bollingbrook Hotel, attributed to Otis Manson. The hotel became known as "one of the best taverns in the Atlantic country." In 1857, a fourth story was added to the building and it was restyled to include a bracketed cornice and cast-iron segmental window caps. During the siege of Petersburg in 1864-1865 Confederate officers were housed here. About 1906 . . . — Map (db m17130) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Campbell's Bridge — Vital Crossing — Lee's Retreat |
| | When General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began its retreat from Petersburg and Richmond on the evening of April 2, 1865, part of the army crossed the Appomattox River at Campbell's Bridge here. Other columns crossed the river on three nearby bridges beginning about 8 p.m. Gen. James Longstreet, with whom Lee rode, crossed just west of here on the Battersea pontoon bridge and passed through Ettricks (now Ettrick). Gen. John B. Gordon led troops from the Petersburg defenses across . . . — Map (db m14593) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — I 6 — Central State Hospital |
| | Established in 1869 in temporary quarters at Howard's Grove near Richmond. In 1870 it came under control of the State. In 1885 it was moved to the present location, the site of "Mayfield Plantation", which was purchased and donated to the State by the City of Petersburg. The first hospital in America exclusively for the treatment of mental disease in the Negro. — Map (db m19000) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — K 205 — City Point and Hopewell |
| | City Point is five miles northeast. There Governor Sir Thomas Dale made a settlement in 1613. In April, 1781, the British General Phillips landed there. Grant had his base of operations there in the siege of Petersburg, 1864-1865. Lincoln was there in April, 1865. In the World War the City of Hopewell grew up near by. — Map (db m14554) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Col. George W. Gowen Monument |
| |
Erected by the surviving
Comrades, school children and
Citizens of Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania, and dedicated to
The memory of the dead of
The 48th Regiment Pennsylvania
Volunteers.
Col. George W. Gowen,
Killed in action in front of
Fort Mahone, April 2nd, 1865
Aged 25 years — Map (db m17528) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Confederate Battery 6 |
| | This battery fell to the Union forces on June 15, 1864. — Map (db m14618) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Confederate Counterattack |
| | “I counted 21 Union flags flying from the Crater and these works. The sight gave me no hope of ever getting away alive.” - Capt. James E. Phillips, 12th Virginia Infantry Union disorganization gave the Confederates the time they needed to respond to the crisis at the Crater. At 9 a.m., Confederate Brig. Gen. William Mahone’s division rushed to the depression about 200 yards to your right. Just as the Federals were forming to renew the attack, Mahone’s leading brigade . . . — Map (db m7062) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Confederate Fort Gregg |
| | “Men, the salvation of Lee’s army is in your keeping.” – Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox to the defenders of Fort Gregg, April 2, 1865 On the afternoon of April 2, 1865, after a morning of bludgeoning attacks all along the Petersburg lines, 5,000 Federals swept forward to attack Fort Gregg. The 300 Confederates here twice drove the Federals back, but finally the attackers reached the fort’s parapet. For twenty minutes a vicious hand-to-hand battle raged.
At fight’s end, . . . — Map (db m7749) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — S 82 — Confederate Fort Whitworth |
| | Named for the Whitworth family of Mayfield, the farm on which it was built, this outpost (a quarter-mile east) and Fort Gregg, 400 yards to the south, were constructed to protect the western approaches to Petersburg during the 1864-1865 siege. On 2 April 1865, when Gen. U.S. Grant’s army attacked the city after turning Gen. R.E. Lee’s flank at Five Forks the day before, the forts were the scene of intense fighting. The Union XXIV Corps captured the two positions, suffering 714 casualties. The . . . — Map (db m14862) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 26 — Corling's Corner |
| | By the 1820s, Petersburg was developing into a major industrial city. The backbone of the city's workforce was enslaved labor. At this highly visible downtown intersection known as Corling's Corner, local manufacturers, railroad companies, building contractors, and private individuals inspected and rented enslaved people to work for one-year terms in their businesses and homes. Petersburg's tobacco factories were probably the largest users of rented labor. At the end of every year, enslaved men . . . — Map (db m17640) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — S 43 — Cottage Farm |
| | A little north stood the McIlwaine home, Lee's field headquarters whence on the afternoon of April 2, 1865, the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg was ordered. Upon issuing the order Lee granted leave to his only staff officer to go to Richmond that evening for his marriage. — Map (db m17555) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Courthouse |
| | This Greek Revival building was constructed between 1838 and 1840 and designed by New York architect Calvin Pollard as the city’s Husting’s Courthouse. The term “hustings” derives from a British form of court system loosely in place in Virginia today and refers to a public space where political campaign speeches are made.
Until the 20th Century, the building housed the city’s administrative offices as well as a variety of courts. Many significant trials occurred here, including . . . — Map (db m17656) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Defending Fort Haskell |
| | Daylight on March 25, 1865, brought furious fighting to Fort Haskell. “Our thin line mounted the banquette – the wounded and sick loading the muskets, while those with sound hands stood to the parapets and blazed away.” - George L. Kilmer, 14th N.Y. Heavy Artillery Dazed Union survivors of the attack at Fort Stedman jammed into Haskell, where Southern artillery and the captured guns at Fort Stedman bombarded them. Union artillery to the south, thinking Fort . . . — Map (db m7032) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Dictator |
| | Sept. 1864: “…the enemy frequently shoot very large shells into Petersburg & do some damage to buildings, but the people are getting used to it, so they don’t mind them….” - A.I.P. Varin 2nd Mississippi Famous but militarily ineffective, the “Dictator” fired on Petersburg from this spot during July, August, and September 1864. The Dictator was a 13-inch seacoast mortar similar to the one in front of you. It was the largest gun used during the siege and could lob . . . — Map (db m6896) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Digging the Mine |
| | “We could blow that damn fort out of existence if we could run a mine shaft under it.” - A private of the 48th Pennsylvania June 23, 1864 Spurred by the offhand suggestion of a former coal miner, on June 25, 1864, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants put his 48th Pennsylvania to digging. Their objective: to tunnel under the Confederate line and low up the battery at Elliott’s Salient. Beginning on June 25, 1864, and continuing for the next month, these Pennsylvania coal . . . — Map (db m7067) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Dividing Point |
| | Twice during the Siege of Petersburg, Harrison’s Creek became a dividing point between contending armies. June 15, 1864 After being driven out of the Dimmock Line, the outnumbered Confederate defenders of Petersburg formed a new line on the heights across the stream from you. They held this position until June 17 - weathering repeated Union attacks - then pulled back safely to the line they would hold for the remainder of the siege, a half mile west of here. March 25, 1865 . . . — Map (db m7030) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — 12 — Earliest Known Public High School for African Americans in Virginia — Petersburg, Virginia |
| | Petersburg established a public school system in 1868, two years before the state’s mandate. Colored Elementary School #1 was conducted in the old church building of the African Baptist Church, which stood to your left. The building had been moved to this site in the 1830s from Bolling’s Hill, where it had served in the 1820s both as a church and as one of the earliest organized schools for African Americans in Petersburg. A second story was constructed within the building designed to . . . — Map (db m26011) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — S 76 — Early English Exploration |
| | In 1650 Fort Henry, now Petersburg, marked the western and southern extent of English settlement in, and knowledge of, Virginia. On 27 Aug. 1650, Edward Bland, merchant and land speculator, and Abraham Wood, frontier militia commander, left Fort Henry on the first documented English exploration of Southside Virginia. Pyancha, an Appamattuck guide, led Bland, Wood, and four others through the territory of the Nottoway, Meherrin, and Hocomawanck Indians for nine days. They probably reached the . . . — Map (db m1994) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 13 — East Hill |
| | On the hilltop to the south is the site of East Hill, also known as Bollingbrook. There the British General Phillips, Benedict Arnold and Lord Cornwallis stayed in April and May, 1781. The house was bombarded by Lafayette, May 10, 1781. There Phillips died, May 13, 1781. — Map (db m14565) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fight for the Weldon Railroad |
| | After failing to bludgeon his way into Petersburg in June and July, Grant decided to strangle the city instead. His plan: cut the railroads into Petersburg - cut the Confederate's lifelines. On August 18, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren's Union Fifth Corps seized the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad here near Globe Tavern. The Confederates retaliated, but after three days of fighting, the Union grip on the railroad remained unshaken. — Map (db m14672) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — First Battle of Petersburg — Kautz’s Effort Stopped Here — Lee vs. Grant – The 1864 Campaign |
| | In May 1864, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant launched attacks on Confederate armies across the South. He accompanied Gen. George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac as it fought Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. With most of both armies still north of the James River, the Federals made their first attempt to capture Confederate-held Petersburg. That effort was stopped here. On June 9, 1864, Gen. August V. Kautz led 13,000 Union cavalrymen here with orders to . . . — Map (db m14569) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 1 — Folly Castle |
| | This house was the town home of Peter Jones, who built it in 1763. It was called "Folly Castle" because it was a large house for a childless man, but Jones later had offspring. Major Erasmus Gill, Revolutionary soldier, also lived here.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission
For the City of Petersburg 1931 — Map (db m17613) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 15 — Formation of the Southern Methodist Church |
| | One block west stood the Union Street Methodist Church, completed in 1820. There was held the first general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, May 1-23, 1846. At this meeting the Southern Methodist Church, which had separated from the Northern Church, effected its organization.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission
For the City of Petersburg 1931 — Map (db m17626) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Conahey |
| | “This fort has cost more labour than any other, has afforded an admirable lesson in engineering, and is one of the sights to show to strangers. Further than this I doubt the value of its elaborateness.” - Col. Charles Wainwright, USA November 20, 1864
Here, unmolested by Confederate bullets and cannons, Union engineering built the most technically elaborate fort on the Petersburg front. Fort Conahey included two tiers of guns, sturdy wooded casemates, and a unique wooden . . . — Map (db m7861) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Davis — Union Stronghold |
| | After four days of unsuccessful trying to capture Petersburg by direct assault on June 15-18, 1864, Gen. U.S. Grant’s Union army began siege operations against the city. Grant’s immediate objective was to cut one of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s supply routes, the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad. Moving westward against the rail line in this area June 21-23, Union forces were stopped short of reaching their goal. They were able, though, to extend their trench lines across the Jerusalem Plank Road, now . . . — Map (db m5824) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Davis |
| | On this site in June, 1864 General U.S. Grant gained control of the Jerusalem Plank Road. — Map (db m14658) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Gregg |
| |
Fort Gregg
Confederate Defense Line
Apr. 2, 1865 ————
Erected Apr. 2, 1914
By A.P. Hill Camp S.C.V. — Map (db m7751) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Hays — A Silent Witness |
| | The land on which Fort Hays is built was fought over on June 22, 1864, when the Union army first attempted to cut one of Lee’s vital rail supply lines, the Petersburg Railroad (usually called the Weldon Railroad) located about three miles west. While the Federals were unsuccessful then in what is known as the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, they did gain ground here and began entrenching. Fort Hays was constructed between August 26 and September 7 after Union victories on August 18-21 in the . . . — Map (db m3765) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 6 — Fort Henry |
| | Four blocks north is the traditional site of Fort Henry, established under the Act of 1645. In 1646 the fort was leased by Abraham Wood. From it, in 1650, Wood and Edmund Bland set out on an exploring expedition; and, in 1671, Batts and Fallam on the first expedition known to have crossed the Appalachian Mountains. The fort was garrsioned again in 1675, with Peter Jones as commander.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission
For the City of Petersburg 1932 — Map (db m17623) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Stedman |
| | It is quite interesting to see a fort going up. The men work in the manner of bees. The mass throw the earth; the engineer soldiers do the ‘rivetting,’ that is, the interior facing the logs. The engineer sergeants run about with tapes and stakes, measuring busily; and the engineer officers look as wise as possible and superintend. - Col. Theodore Lyman, USA With up to six cannons and 300 infantrymen as garrison, Fort Stedman was typical of the more than 30 forts that studded the Union . . . — Map (db m7031) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Stedman |
| | In the last grand offensive movement of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, Fort Stedman, with adjacent works, was captured at 4:30 A.M., March 25, 1865, by a well selected body of Confederates, under the command of General John B. Gordon. An advance was made with great determination, over the broken Union lines, then through the ravine, and up the rising ground to the eastward, for the purpose of cutting the U.S. Military R.R. and thus make successful the Confederate plan of severing the Army of . . . — Map (db m7033) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Fort Wadsworth |
| | Built following the Battle of the Weldon Railroad in August 1864, Fort Wadsworth anchored the extreme left of the Union siege lines for more than a month. It secured the the Union grip on the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad - a major Confederate supply line. The fort's size reflects its importance during August and September of 1864. Duty here was easier than in the works on the right of the line; the closest Confederates were nearly a mile away. — Map (db m14673) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 7 — General Lee's Headquarters |
| | Three blocks north and a half a block west is the Beasley House where General Robert E. Lee had his second headquarters in 1864 during the siege of Petersburg. He moved thence to Edge Hill to be in closer touch with his right wing.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission. For the City of Petersburg 1931. — Map (db m17544) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 2 — Golden Ball Tavern |
| | Here stood a dwelling house, constructed about 1764 by prosperous tobacco merchant, Richard Hanson, who, as a fervent Loyalist, fled Virginia in 1776. During the latter part of the Revolution, the structure became known as the Golden Ball Tavern. According to tradition, British officers serving under Cornwallis were quartered here in 1781. When Petersburg was incorporated as a town in 1784, the town council and the courts used the tavern as their first meeting place. The structure was enlarged . . . — Map (db m17618) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 19 — Grace Episcopal Church |
| | The third home of Grace Church, a brick Gothic Revival-style building, stood on this site from 1859 to 1960. The congregation was founded in 1841 by Dr. Churchhill Jones Gibson, rector until 1892. In 1928 a majority of the members, led by the rector, Dr. Edwin Royall Carter, left to form Christ Episcopal Church at 1545 South Sycamore Street. The two congregations reunited in 1953 at the Sycamore Street site as Christ and Grace Episcopal Church. — Map (db m17632) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 16 — Graham Road |
| | On June 9, 1864, Kautz's Union cavalry, 1300 men, after overwhelming Archer's militia, one mile south, moved westward on this road to attack the city. Upon the hillside, one mile west, they were repulsed by the battery of Captain Edward Graham, and later driven to retreat by General James Dearing's cavalry. This attack, in conjunction with an infantry force that did not come up, was the first attempt to capture Petersburg. — Map (db m17627) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 17 — Graham Road |
| | Upon this site, on June 9, 1864, Captain Edward Graham, commanding two guns of the Petersburg Artillery, repulsed the attack of Kautz's cavalry, 1300 men. And by this gallant defense the city was saved. Later the Union forces were driven to retreat by the supporting cavalry of General James Dearing. — Map (db m17628) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Hagood’s Brigade — A.N.V. — C.S.A. |
| | Here a brigade composed of the 7th battalion, the 11th, 21st, 25th and 27th regiments South Carolina Volunteers, commanded by Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood, charged Warren’s Federal Army Corps, on the 21st day of August 1864, taking into the fight 749 men, retiring with 273. -----------------------------------No prouder fate than theirs who gave their lives to liberty. — Map (db m7954) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Infantry Earthworks |
| | “Attacking entrenchments has been tried so often and with such fearful losses that even the stupidest private now knows that it cannot succeed, and the natural consequence follows; the men will not try it. The very sight of a bank of earth brings them to a dead halt.” - Col. Charles Wainwright, USA, June 18, 1864 Re-created here are samples of some of the infantry earthworks that ringed Petersburg – works that one man said made the landscape resemble “an immense . . . — Map (db m7085) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Jordon Family Cemetery |
| | Buried with his parents are Josiah Jordan, his wife, Mary and four of their children - Watson, 10 months, Laura, 3 years, Charles, 4 months, and Lemuel, 24 years. This land was Josiah's farm at the time of the siege. — Map (db m14617) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Joseph Jenkins Roberts |
| | [Southwest face:]
Resident of Petersburg 1815-1829
First President of the Republic of Liberia 1848-1855 + 1871-1876
[Northeast face:]
Joseph Jenkins Roberts worked on Union Street, about 100 yards northwest of here.
This marker was authorized June 7, 1977 by the City Council of Petersburg.
Hermanze E. Fauntleroy, Jr., Mayor * Barbara P. Shell, Vice Mayor
Charles H. Cuthbert, IV * Arthur T. Ford * Robert L. Frazier
Clyde Johnson * Gilbert A. Monti
William . . . — Map (db m16004) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Lest We Forget |
| | This monument is presented to
the City of Petersburg
by
Petersburg Post No. 2
The American Legion
and affectionately dedicated
to our comrades who marched
out with us during the World
War, and did not come back
November 11th 1928 — Map (db m17642) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Mahone |
| | To the memory of William Mahone Major General C.S.A. A distinguished Confederate commander, whose valor and strategy at the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864 won for himself and his gallant brigade undying fame.
A citizen of Petersburg, Virginia, born Dec. 1, 1826, died Oct. 6, 1895. — Map (db m6752) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Mahone’s Brigade |
| | This stone marks the approximately the extreme right of Mahone’s Brigade Virginia Volunteers when it captured the Confederate Breastworks on the 30th of July, 1864. Placed by the Petersburg Chapter U.D.C. November 1910. — Map (db m7034) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Major Peter Jones |
| | Site of
Trading Station
of
Major Peter Jones.
About 1675.
Owner of Peters Point.
Afterwards Petersburg.
Frances Bland Randolph Chapter
D.A.R.
1909. — Map (db m17641) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Massachusetts |
| | (Front):In memory of the soldiers and sailors from Massachusetts who lost their lives in the armies of the Potomac and James in various battles in Virginia 1861 - 1865 This monument erected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Back): 1st Mass. Infty. - 22d Mass. Infty. - 40th Mass. Infty. - 9th Mass. Lt. Arty. 2d Mass. Infty. - 23d Mass. Infty. - 56th Mass. Infty. - 10th Mass. Lt. Arty. 7th Mass. Infty. - 24th Mass. Infty. - 57th Mass. Infty. - 11th Mass. Lt. Arty. 9th Mass. . . . — Map (db m14619) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — McKenney House |
| | The McKenney House was originally constructed as a residence for Mayor John Dodson in 1859. It was the residence of Confederate General William Mahone after the Civil War. The property was purchased by William R. McKenney in early 1911. The McKenney family gave the house to the City in 1923 to be used as a public library in honor of the prominent lawyer. Opened in 1924, the library was segregated for decades with white patrons allowed to use the main level and African-Americans only allowed in . . . — Map (db m17652) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — 13 — McKenney Library — Petersburg, Virginia |
| | Petersburg's main public library, the William R. McKenney Library, is housed in a fine dwelling constructed in 1859 by John Dodson, a prominent lawyer and mayor of Petersburg. After the Civil War, the Confederate General and railroad magnate Billy Mahone lived in the house, where he entertained such dignitaries as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The McKenney family gave the house to the City of Petersburg in 1923 to be used as a library in honor of their father, the well-known attorney . . . — Map (db m20609) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Monotonous Toil |
| | “The romance of a soldier’s life disappears in a siege. The change of scenery and the lively marches are gone, and the same monotonous unvaried rounds of toil take their place. Sunday and weekday are all alike.” T.M. Blythe 50th N.Y. Engineers This quiet wood was once a busy encampment. Here, during the winter of 1864-65, Union soldiers fought not Confederates, but boredom and toil. They drilled, they primped their huts, they read mail and newspapers, they played, and they . . . — Map (db m7079) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Old Men and Boys of Petersburg |
| | This stone marks the spot where the Old Men and Boys of Petersburg under Gen. R.E. Colston and Col. F.H. Archer 125 strong on June 9th, 1864 distinguished themselves in a fight with 1300 Federal cavalry under Gen. Kautz gaining time for the defense of the expedition.
Placed by the Petersburg Chapter U.D.C. May 1908 — Map (db m17521) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Old U.S. Customs House & Post Office |
| | Built of Petersburg granite and constructed between 1856 and 1860, the U.S. Customs House and Post Office was designed by Ammi B. Young, architect of the U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington D.C. The decision to add the third story was made during construction. During the Civil War, this upper story served as headquarters for the Confederate military department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina, commanded variously by James Longstreet, D.H. Hill, George E. Pickett, and P.G.T. . . . — Map (db m17653) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Opportunity Lost |
| | “At that hour, Petersburg was clearly at the mercy of the Federal commander, who had all but captured it.” - Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, CSA Confederate Commander, June 15, 1864 “Deeming that I held important points of the enemy’s line of works, I thought it prudent to make no farther advance.” - Maj. Gen. William F. “Baldy” Smith, USA Union Commander, June 15, 1864 At 7 p.m. on June 15, 1864, the boom of Union cannons to the east foreshadowed a . . . — Map (db m6900) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Pennsylvania Monument — 3rd Div. 9th Corps, Army of the Potomac |
| | Bermuda Hundred
Weldon Raid
Hatcher’s Run
Petersburg
Fort Stedman
Fort Mahone — Map (db m17537) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield |
| | Has been designated a National Historic Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. In the predawn darkness of April 2, 1865, the Union Sixth Corps successfully breached the Confederate defenses southwest of Petersburg. The breakthrough forced the Confederate evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, hastening an end to four years of civil war. — Map (db m6253) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Petersburg Defenses — Batteries 35-38 |
| | You are facing Battery 37 in the 10-mile-long Confederate defensive line constructed between 1862 and 1864 east and south of Petersburg. Named the Dimmock Line for supervising engineer Capt. Charles H. Dimmock, it consisted of trenches linking 55 earthen forts and batteries. Four batteries—35 to 38—still remain here in present-day Lee Park. From east to west, the first is Battery 35, built for 9 guns in Bailey’s Woods on high ground east of present-day Willcox Lake. After the Army . . . — Map (db m17508) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Pocahontas — The Revolutionary War |
| | Positions in the Battle of Petersburg
On 25 April 1781, this part of the community of Pocahontas served as the rear guard staging area for American Major General Frederick von Steuben’s Virginia militia in their defense of Petersburg against the invading British army under Major General William Phillips.
During the evening and night before the battle, troops of Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg’s Corps had encamped in Pocahontas and on the Heights (now Colonial Heights) above the . . . — Map (db m26831) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 5 — Poplar Lawn |
| | Poplar Lawn is now known as Central Park. Here the Petersburg Volunteers camped in October 1812, before leaving for the Canadian border. Here Lafayette was greeted with music and speeches in 1824. The place was bought by the city in 1844. Volunteer companies enlisted here, April 19, 1861. In the siege of 1864-65 a hospital stood here.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission
For the City of Petersburg 1931 — Map (db m17621) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Prelude to the Crater |
| | “The mine is all finished, the powder in, the fuse all ready. I hope that the attack will be successful, for if it is, we shall have Petersburg in our possession.” - Col. Stephen M. Weld, 50th Massachusetts July 28, 1864 The predawn darkness of July 30, 1864, shrouded intense Union preparations on this ridge. Thousands of troops filed quietly into the ravine and trenches in front. More than 160 cannon crowded the earthworks to your right and left. Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. . . . — Map (db m7054) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Prince George Court House Road |
| | This trail follows the old road which ran between Petersburg and Prince George Court House. It was used by both armies to move men and supplies. — Map (db m7093) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — South Carolina |
| | On this hill for one month South Carolina troops guarded the entrance to Petersburg and here July 30, 1864, suffered death from a mine exploded by the Federals. Here the surviving Carolinians under the command of Stephen Elliott by their valor turned a dreadful disaster into a glorious victory.
Erected by the South Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy
1923 — Map (db m6751) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — South Side Station — The Retreat Begins |
| | Begin the 26-stop auto driving tour of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox at this point. The tour covers over 100 miles and takes approximately four to five hours to complete. A map can be obtained at the nearby Visitors Center. Be sure to stop at the various pull-overs and tune your radio to AM 1610 unless otherwise noted at the sites. A three to five minute narrative will be playing which explains the importance of each location.
When Lee’s forces withdrew from . . . — Map (db m3592) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — South Side Station — Beginning of the End — Lee vs. Grant - The 1864 Campaign |
| | This original South Side Railroad station, the oldest such building in the state, was built around 1854 when the line was completed from Petersburg westward to Lynchburg, a distance of 123 miles. An express train could run this distance in five hours, including one hour stopping at the various stations along the way. The old City Point Railroad was also purchased at this time, becoming an extension of the South Side.
During the Civil War, many Confederate troops were brought here from . . . — Map (db m3593) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 10 — St. Paul's Church |
| | St. Paul's Church was built in 1856. Here Robert E. Lee and his staff worshipped during the siege of Petersburg, 1864-65. Lee attended the wedding of his son, W.H.F. Lee, in this church in 1867.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission
For the City of Petersburg 1931 — Map (db m17625) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Battle at the Bridge — The Revolutionary War |
| | 25 April 1781
In the late afternoon and evening of 24 April 1781, Virginia militia regiments of Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg’s Corps of about 1,000 men marched into Petersburg in order to counter an expected attack by the invading 2,500 man British army of Major General William Phillips the following day. That evening, Major General Frederick von Steuben, the overall American commander in Virginia, ordered Muhlenberg’s Corps and other gathering militia to the north side of the . . . — Map (db m26829) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Battle of Fort Whitworth |
| | This battery, also known as Fort Baldwin, Alexander or Anderson was garrisoned by the 19th & 48th Mississippi Infantry of Brig. Genl. Nathaniel Harris’s brigade. They were initially supported by guns of Louisiana’s Washington Artillery but these were withdrawn from the fort during the battle. At 1:00 PM on April 2, 1865, the initial assault by Union forces began on nearby Fort Gregg by Maj. Genl. John Gibbon’s XXIV Corps. Eventually Fort Whitworth was attacked by Brig. Genl. Thomas M. Harris’s . . . — Map (db m14863) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Crater |
| | “There was utmost consternation. Some men scampered out of the lines; some, paralyzed with fear, vaguely scratched at the counterscarp as if trying to escape. Smoke and dust filled the air.” - Col. William McMaster, 17th South Carolina Infantry
At 4:40 a.m. on July 30, 1864, the men of Captain Richard Pegram’s battery and two South Carolina regiments lay sleeping here at Elliot’s Salient. A moment later, this place turned into a smoking hole 170 feet long, 80 feet wide, . . . — Map (db m7058) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 18 — The First Methodist Meeting House |
| | The first Methodist Meeting House in Petersburg was a theatre on West Old Street near the river rented by Gressett Davis. Robert Williams, a follower of John Wesley, came to Petersburg to preach in 1773 at the invitation of Davis and Nathaniel Young, local businessmen. From this humble beginning, Methodism became firmly established in Petersburg and spread throughout the surrounding countryside. Petersburg served as Williams' headquarters and later was made part of the Brunswick circuit. — Map (db m26014) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Largest Fort |
| | Fort Fisher was the largest of the more than 30 forts that studded the Union siege lines. It included nearly 2,000 feet of parapet and could mount 19 guns. The boom of a single gun in this fort on the morning of April 2, 1865, portended the fall of Petersburg. That solitary shot signaled the opening of the final Union assaults on the city.
“When the signal sounded the entire Corps, notwithstanding the orders to keep silent, sent up a mighty cheer and then dashed forward into the . . . — Map (db m7862) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — 14 — The Peabody-Williams School — Petersburg, Virginia |
| | Disrupted by the convulsions of the First World War, efforts to replace the increasingly inadequate Peabody School on Fillmore Street stretched out from 1913 until 1920, when the new Peabody-Williams School opened on Jones Street. Charles Robinson, who designed scores of other Virginia schools, including four others and the Petersburg Hotel in Petersburg, and executed master plans for Virginia State University and the College of William & Mary, completed his plans for the new school in . . . — Map (db m26012) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Petersburg Railroad |
| | The Petersburg Railroad, sometimes called the Weldon Railroad, united Petersburg with Weldon, North Carolina. It was one of the first railroads in America, beginning operations in 1833. It carried vast amounts of cargo and passengers to and from Petersburg before and during the Civil War, prompting General Grant to make its capture one of his chief objectives during his assault on the city in the summer of 1864. These iron rails were ploughed up in 1981 two miles southwest of this point by . . . — Map (db m7952) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — The Siege of Petersburg |
| | "I would not believe before I came here that man was capable of enduring so much." -Lawrence Bradley, 1st Mass. Heavy Artillery If Petersburg fell, the Confederate capital at Richmond would fall too. Grant knew it; Lee knew it. And for nine months in 1864 and 1865 Union and Confederate armies waged a brutal campaign here that left the Confederacy on the verge of total defeat. At Petersburg, the war in Virginia transformed from a whirlwind succession of marches and battles into a . . . — Map (db m14600) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — QA 14 — Two Noted Homes |
| | Half a block south is the home of Major General William Mahone, famed for his gallant conduct at the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864. Two blocks south is the Wallace Home, where Abraham Lincoln conferred with General Grant, April 3, 1865, preceding Grant's march to Appomattox.
Virginia Conservation & Development Commission. For the City of Petersburg 1931 — Map (db m17553) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — U.S. Colored Troops |
| | In memory of the valorous service of Regiments and Companies of the U.S. Colored Troops Army of the James and Army of the Potomac Siege of Petersburg 1864 – 65 — Map (db m7081) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Uprooted by War |
| | “Every tree, stump, and fence has disappeared… What was once verdant is now a wasteland of dust and dirt.” - John Haley, 17th Maine Infantry January 26, 1865 The gentle depression in front of you is the only vestige of the Josiah Jordon House. The house was dismantled by Union troops during the Siege of Petersburg. War came to the Jordon farm in late 1862, when Confederate engineer Charles Dimmock laid out ten miles of defenses to protect Petersburg. Battery 5 of the . . . — Map (db m7092) |
| Virginia, Petersburg — Ventilation Shaft |
| | “Regular Army wiseacres said it was not feasible – that I could not carry the ventilation that distance without digging a hole to the surface… But I have succeeded.” - Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, 48th Pennsylvania July 23, 1864 The most serious problem that faced Lt. Col. Pleasants was getting fresh air to the men working in the tunnel. He came up with a solution commonly used in the Pennsylvania coal mines. One hundred feet into the mine, Pleasants’s men dug a . . . — Map (db m7068) |
| Virginia (Chesterfield County), Petersburg — O 26 — Mattoax |
| | Mattoax was located to the south on the Appomattox River. John Randolph, Sr., built a house there in the 1770s that burned after 1810; it was the boyhood home of his son, John Randolph of Roanoke. Mattoax also was the residence of St. George Tucker, a noted jurist, and his sons: Henry St. George Tucker, lawyer and legislator, and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, novelist and law professor. In 1854 Sylvester J. Pearce built a second house on the site that stood until the 1930s. — Map (db m19637) |
| Virginia (Dinwiddie County), Petersburg — “A Determination That Knew No Such Word as Fail” — The Breakthrough Trail — Pamplin Historical Park |
| | As the Vermonters pushed closer to the Confederate fortifications, they encountered the multiple rows of obstructions specifically designed to pin down an attacking force. Here, the Confederates extracted a terrible toll on the desperate Federals, who struggled to find their way through the tangled tree limbs while absorbing a deadly fire from the enemy line. “With a cheer we went on getting through the abatis the best we could,” remembered Lieutenant Robert Pratt of the 5th . . . — Map (db m15324) |
| Virginia (Dinwiddie County), Petersburg — “A Great Struggle is Now Impending” — The Breakthrough Trail — Pamplin Historical Park |
| | The Union high command began making preparations to attack the Confederate lines on the Boisseau Plantation shortly after the capture of the Rebels’ picket line on March 25. Final orders arrived on the afternoon of April 1 for a dawn assault the following morning. Major General Horatio G. Wright, commander of the Union Sixth Corps, took several steps to ensure that his offensive would be successful. He assigned axmen and sharpshooters to precede the infantry to remove the obstructions and . . . — Map (db m15313) |
Subscribe
— Privacy Policy
— Terms of Use
— About Us
— Contact Us
HMdb.org