Petersburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Lincoln In Petersburg

Last Meeting

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 16, 2011

1. Lincoln in Petersburg CWT Marker

Inscription. After Union forces secured Petersburg on April 3, 1865, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant established his headquarters here at the Thomas Wallace House. He sent word to President Abraham Lincoln at City Point that Petersburg had fallen and invited Lincoln to meet him here. Lincoln and his son Tad rode the U.S. Military Railroad to Hancock Station, where his son Capt. Robert T. Lincoln, a member of Grant’s staff, met him and escorted him through Union and Confederate lines. After pausing at Confederate Fort Mahone, they arrived here about 11 A.M. to find Grant seated on the front porch. Lincoln dismounted and walked rapidly through the gate, “his face beaming with delight,” to shake Grant’s hand and offer congratulations.

Lincoln and Grant smoked cigars on the porch, discussed the events of the past week, and hoped to hear soon of the capture of Richmond. Lincoln reiterated his intention to pursue a lenient policy toward the South and outlined his plans for reconstruction. Thomas Wallace, the home’s owner and an old Whig acquaintance of Lincoln, invited Lincoln and Grant inside. When they declined because of the cigar smoke, Wallace

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brought Lincoln a high-backed wooden chair, and the president sat on it at the edge of the porch with his long legs dangling. After an hour and a half, with no word of Richmond’s fate, Lincoln and the rest of his party remounted and toured Petersburg. They picked up as souvenirs some bundles of tobacco they found scattered about the streets before returning to City Point, where Lincoln learned that Richmond had been surrendered.

(sidebar)
In March 1865, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant invited President Abraham Lincoln to visit him at City Point for a respite from the capital as the 9 1/2-month-tong siege of Petersburg neared its end. Lincoln joined him on March 24. They held meetings, reviewed the army, and toured for fortifications. On April 3, the day the Federals occupied Richmond and Petersburg, Lincoln and Grant held their last meeting in Petersburg. Lincoln visited Richmond the next day. He returned to Washington on April 9 as Grant accepted the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House.

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list:

Last Meeting Marker at the Thomas Wallace House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 16, 2011

2. Last Meeting Marker at the Thomas Wallace House

War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the Virginia Civil War Trails series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is April 3, 1865.

Location. 37° 13.449′ N, 77° 24.345′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia. It is at the intersection of South Market Street and Brown Street, on the left when traveling south on South Market Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 204 South Market Street, Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Virginia Voters League (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bishop Payne Divinity School

Last meeting place of Lincoln & Grant image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 16, 2011

3. Last meeting place of Lincoln & Grant

The circular porch was likely a later addition.

(about 400 feet away); Prince Hall Masons in Virginia (about 600 feet away); Gothic Cottage (about 600 feet away); North Carolina Confederate Hospital (about 700 feet away); First Baptist Church (about 700 feet away); Wyatt Tee Walker (about 800 feet away); a different marker also named First Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Also see . . . Thomas Wallace House. National Register of Historic Places (Submitted on October 17, 2011.)

Abraham Lincoln, Pres't U.S. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Alexander Gardner, February 5, 1865

4. Abraham Lincoln, Pres't U.S.

Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsca-19215]

Gnl Grant from life image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Alden Finney Brooks, circa 1865

5. Gnl Grant from life

Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsca-22328]

View north on Market Street with Thomas Wallace House on corner at left image. Click for full size.

1865

6. View north on Market Street with Thomas Wallace House on corner at left

Library of Congress [LC-DIG-cwpb-00474]

Sketch of the entrenched lines in the immediate front of Petersburg image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Nathaniel Michler, circa 1865

7. Sketch of the entrenched lines in the immediate front of Petersburg

Library of Congress [G3884.P4S5 1865 .M5 CW 609]

Thomas Wallace House, Petersburg image. Click for full size.

National Register of Historic Places

8. Thomas Wallace House, Petersburg

Sign At The Wallace House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, October 6, 2013

9. Sign At The Wallace House

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 17, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,120 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on October 17, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 9. submitted on June 13, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.