Nottoway County. Area 310 Square Miles. Formed in 1788 from Amelia, and named for an Indian tribe. Tarleton passed through this county in 1781. Here lived William Hodges Mann, Governor of Virginia 1910-14.
Dinwiddie . . . — — Map (db m286889) HM
Hoping to cut Lee’s supply route into Petersburg, in February 1865 Grant ordered two army corps led by Major Generals Gouverneur K. Warren and Andrew A. Humphreys to seize the Boydton Plank Road. The Confederate corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John B. . . . — — Map (db m6486) HM
On February 6, the Union forces pressed onward towards the South Side Railroad. Around 1 p.m., Major General Gouverneur K. Warren’s Fifth Corps sent out two divisions under the leadership of Major General Samuel Crawford and Major General Romeyn . . . — — Map (db m291453) HM
Site of P. B. Halligan Co., Inc.
General merchandise store established 1900
Destroyed by fire October 1985
Founded by Peter Bernard Halligan
April 11, 1870 - August 18, 1937
Churchman, community leader, farmer, merchant, banker and . . . — — Map (db m248379) HM
One of the Confederates trying to stem Gen. Crawford's Union troops was James Breckenridge. Born in Fincastle, Virginia he graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and the law school at the University of Virginia. At the outbreak of the war . . . — — Map (db m180070) HM
Confederate General George Pickett's infantry and General Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry were ordered to protect the last remaining supply line, the South Side Railroad, coming into Petersburg. The infantry dug a line of entrenchments along White Oak . . . — — Map (db m180065) HM
Here at Five Forks on April 1, 1865 10,000 Confederates, commanded by General Pickett, were overwhelmed by about 50,000 Federal troops, led by General Sheridan, thereby opening the way to the Southside Railroad making further defense of Petersburg . . . — — Map (db m180073) HM
Four miles south is the battlefield of Five Forks. To that point Pickett retired from Dinwiddie Courthouse in the night of March 31, 1865. Sheridan, following, attacked him in the afternoon of April 1, 1865. The Confederates, outnumbered and . . . — — Map (db m18860) HM
The decisive Union movement at the Battle of Five Forks was, for the Federals, a fortunate mistake. While one Union division struck the Confederate left at the Angle, Brig. Gen. Samuel W Crawford’s division passed too far north and missed the . . . — — Map (db m6217) HM
“Hold Five Forks at all hazards…” Just before noon on April 1, 1865, 10,000 Confederates under Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett arrived here at Five Forks. They immediately started digging and by mid-afternoon had constructed a rough earthwork . . . — — Map (db m6226) HM
Born near here in Dinwiddie County in 1818, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, or Keckly, was a
dressmaker and abolitionist. She lived as a slave in Virginia and North Carolina but
eventually bought her freedom in 1855. By 1860 she had relocated to . . . — — Map (db m79076) HM
Union cavalrymen, under General Thomas Devin, advanced across this wooded ground twice on April 1, 1865. In the morning they tested the strength of the Southerners' defenses north of here along White Oak Road. The Union soldiers were thrown back by . . . — — Map (db m86029) HM
As Union General Romeyn Ayres finished aligning his men, about 4:15 pm on April 1st, 1865, near the Gravelly Run Methodist Episcopal Church the order was given for the division to attack. Generals' Phillip Sheridan, Gouverneur Warren and Colonel . . . — — Map (db m245798) HM
"The woods were quite heavy and full of fallen timber, so it was quite difficult to keep our line."
Elbert M. Johnson, Company E, 2nd New York "Harris Light" Cavalry
"Where our Brigade was stationed was a heavy pine wood opposite . . . — — Map (db m291443) HM
"We moved up to the edge of the timber, and after staying there a short time, practicing with our carbines on the heads that would occasionally come above the breastworks."
William J. Smith, Company M, 2nd Ohio Cavalry
"The rebels . . . — — Map (db m291446) HM
"While dashing forward I did not mind it, but when I found myself away in front & no one following me, I dropped behind a big pine. Never did I hug the ground closer; the musketry was deadly & terrific, yet it seemed as nothing to the grape & . . . — — Map (db m291444) HM
With their left at the Angle crashed and their center near the Five Forks intersection overrun, the Confederates made a final stand here, in and around Gilliam’s field. Across the open ground to your right, Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer led . . . — — Map (db m155104) HM
“When we moved toward Five Forks…we were not expecting any attack that afternoon, so far as I know. Our throwing up works and taking position were simply general matters of military precaution.” - Major General Fitzhugh Lee, CSA You are . . . — — Map (db m6213) HM
(front)
In Memoriam
Battle of Dinwiddie Court House
Dedicated to the Confederate and Union soldiers who gave their lives in the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House, sometimes called Chamberlain’s Bed, in the last brief victory of the . . . — — Map (db m17670) HM
British Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis ordered cavalry commander Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton to raid Southside Virginia in the summer of 1781. Tarleton left Surry County before turning back. His objective was to destroy stores of ammunition, clothing, . . . — — Map (db m180009) HM
That stream flows into Stony Creek a mile west. On March 31, 1865, Pickett and W.H.F. Lee, coming from Five Forks, forced a passage of Chamberlain's Bed in the face of Sheridan's troops, who were driven back to Dinwiddie Courthouse. — — Map (db m17701) HM
Late afternoon, April 1, 1865. Confederate infantrymen waited behind rude, muddy earthworks lining the White Oak Road. Young Colonel William R.J. Pegram tended to his artillery: three guns in this field, three others farther to the west (your . . . — — Map (db m180075) HM
1861.-1865.
In
memory of
Dinwiddie’s Confederate
soldiers, that their heroic
deeds, sublime self-sacrifice and
undying devotion to duty and
country may never be forgotten. — — Map (db m174997) WM
In June 1864, to deny Gen. Robert E. Lee the use of the South Side R.R. and the Richmond and Danville R.R., Gen, Ulysses S. Grant sent Gen. James H. Wilson and Gen. August V. Kautz south of Petersburg on a cavalry raid to destroy track and rolling . . . — — Map (db m17556) HM
Sheridan advanced to this place on March 29, 1865, while Warren was attacking Anderson about three miles north. On March 31 Sheridan moved south but was checked by Pickett and driven back to the courthouse. That night Pickett withdrew to Five Forks. — — Map (db m17669) HM
Dinwiddie Normal Industrial School, the first African American high school built in the county during the segregation era, stood three miles southeast. When the building burned in 1953, plans were already in progress to construct a modern facility . . . — — Map (db m79077) HM
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church on 28 March 1962 during a "People to People" tour of communities in southern Virginia. King and other official of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made stops between . . . — — Map (db m310182) HM
Prior to the Civil War, Dinwiddie County was home to several private academies for those who could afford to pay for their education. While it was mostly affluent males who were educated, Pegram’s Academy, Female Academy, Girard Heartwell . . . — — Map (db m26834) HM
Prior to the Civil War, Dinwiddie County was home to several private academies for those who could afford to pay for their education. While it was mostly affluent males who were educated, Pegram's Academy, Female Academy, Girard Heartwell's . . . — — Map (db m180010) HM
Quakers began settling the region by the end of the 17th century. Named for nearby Gravelly Run stream, the meetinghouse was built by 1767. It became the religious center for the Quakers in Dinwiddie and surrounding counties. In the early 1800s the . . . — — Map (db m17662) HM
This was the first in a series of attempts by Grant’s army to cut Lee’s final supply line – the South Side Railroad – in spring 1865. Here at the Lewis farm, Union forces led by Brig. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain engaged Confederates under Maj. Gen. . . . — — Map (db m175570) HM
Nearby stands Raceland, also known as Rice's Tavern, built ca. 1750. The building originally was a simple story-and-a-half dwelling with a hall-and-parlor plan. Subsequent additions transformed it into a two-story Federal-style house. It has been . . . — — Map (db m17663) HM
Just to the west stands the law office occupied in early life by Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, commander of the United States Army, 1841-1861. Scott, born near here, June 13, 1786, was admitted to the bar in 1806 and entered the army in 1808. . . . — — Map (db m17668) HM
By April 1, 1865, Five Forks, just north of where you're standing, had become a linchpin—key to the Confederate capital at Richmond. To control the Five Forks intersection was to control the South Side Railroad and Richmond's last connection to . . . — — Map (db m180061) HM
Dinwiddie's Southside High School was started in 1908 as Dinwiddie Normal and Industrial School and was owned by the operated by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church. The only school in the area for African Americans for several . . . — — Map (db m180012) HM
"I'm ready to strike out tomorrow and go to smashing things."
Sheridan moves to cut Lee's last supply lines
Early spring, 1865, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, formulating his nineth and ultimate offensive . . . — — Map (db m291448) HM
"The current was filled with the bodies of the dead and wounded."
The Attack on Sheridan's Left Flank
Major General Sheridan dispersed his Union Cavalry Corps' and advanced on the high open "plateau" at Dinwiddie . . . — — Map (db m291449) HM
The Attack on Sheridan's Right Flank
In the mid-afternoon of March 31, 1865, opposing forces were converging on Danse's Ford, 1˝ miles to your left along Chamberlain's . . . — — Map (db m291450) HM
"In less than ten minutes we had gained the summit."
The South's Sunset Charge and the Lat Rebel Yell
Gibbs' Brigade had fallen back from the Boisseau farm to a point 1/2 mile north of here. There he was joined . . . — — Map (db m291451) HM
"I will hold on to Dinwiddie Court House until I am compelled to leave." -Sheridan
Final Dispositions on March 31,1865
Between 4 and 5:30 p.m. Confederates directed frontal assaults on the now constricted . . . — — Map (db m291452) HM
For nine months, an ever-lengthening fortified line had protected Petersburg. On April 1, 1865, at this obscure county crossroads, that Confederate line finally stretched to its breaking point.
"In its Result, it was to our country as . . . — — Map (db m71591) HM
The War of 1812. Impressment of Americans into British service and the violation of American ships were among the causes of America’s War of 1812 with the British, which lasted until 1815. Beginning in 1813, Virginians suffered from a British . . . — — Map (db m78064) HM
Hancock moved by it to his defeat at Burgess Mill, October 27, 1864, and in 1865, Grant moved his forces on it from the east to attack Lee's right wing. On March 29, 1865, Sheridan came to Dinwiddie Court House over it in the operations preceeding . . . — — Map (db m17700) HM
In June 1864, to deny Gen. Robert E. Lee the use of the South Side R.R. and the Richmond and Danville R.R., Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent Gen. James H. Wilson and Gen. August V Kautz south of Petersburg on a cavalry raid to destroy track and rolling . . . — — Map (db m18840) HM
Nearby is Montrose, the birthplace of Roger Atkinson Pryor, born 19 July 1828. Pryor practiced law before becoming a journalist and briefly owned newspapers in Richmond and Washington, D.C., in the 1850s. He served his Virginia district in the U.S. . . . — — Map (db m26839) HM
Butterwood Chapel, one of three Anglican chapels constructed in Dinwiddie County in the 18th century, was built by 1763 on or near this site. It probably was the first church built after the creation of Bath Parish in 1742. The Reverend Devereux . . . — — Map (db m31054) HM
A public school operated here as early as the 1880s. In 1907, three other one-room schools nearby were consolidated here as Darvills Graded School, which was expanded and made a high school in 1913. It was the heart of community activities, notably . . . — — Map (db m31055) HM
F. Southall Farrar, farm demonstration agent for
Southside Virginia, organized the state’s first
corn clubs for boys in 1909. Such clubs, a feature
of the nation’s emerging agricultural extension
movement, had originated in the Midwest . . . — — Map (db m107770) HM
Sallie Jones Atkinson, prominent educator and community leader in Dinwiddie County and her husband, John Pryor Atkinson, gave the land on which Sunnyside High School was built in 1911. By her vision, tireless industry, and determination, the school . . . — — Map (db m26838) HM
Sapony Episcopal Church stands approximately 1.5 miles to the north. This simple frame building was first constructed in 1725-1726. The Rev. Devereux Jarratt served as rector here and at two other congregations in Dinwiddie County from 1763 until . . . — — Map (db m26841) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m285475) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m181490) HM
The Confederate troops who defended this portion of the works belonged to Brigadier General James H. Lane’s North Carolina Brigade. These Tarheels assumed responsibility here on March 30 after McGowan’s Brigade moved several miles west to plug a gap . . . — — Map (db m15375) HM
At various intervals along their lines, Confederate defenders constructed gun emplacements, called redans, such as the one in front of you. Each redan would hold as few as one or as many as six cannons. Virtually every square inch of ground in front . . . — — Map (db m192468) HM
The main line of entrenchments behind you was only one part of the entire defensive network established here by the Confederates. Southern soldiers removed all the trees in front of their works to create a clear field of fire. They used the wood to . . . — — Map (db m175181) HM
The passage of the picket posts and abatis shattered regimental formations in the Vermont Brigade. The attack degenerated into a rush of disorganized men rather than an example of textbook tactics. Orderly Sergeant Thomas H. McCauley of the . . . — — Map (db m154894) HM
1st Lieutenant Evander McNair Robeson Company K, 18th North Carolina Infantry, Lane’s Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, Third Corps Resident: Bladen County, North Carolina Enlisted: April 1861 A comrade of Robeson’s wrote about the battle on April 2, . . . — — Map (db m15325) HM
1st Lieutenant Octavius Augustus Wiggins Company E, 37th North Carolina Infantry, Lane’s Brigade, Wilcox’s Division, Third Corps Resident: Halifax County, North Carolina Enlisted: June 1862 Wiggins was wounded near here during the Breakthrough . . . — — Map (db m15326) HM
The shallow depression in front of you marks the location of what was once a substantial dwelling. Archaeologists excavated this site in 1997 and discovered a well-preserved brick foundation and flooring. The artifacts recovered from the site . . . — — Map (db m15407) HM
To the memory of A.P. Hill, Lt - Gen CSA
He was killed about 600 yards northwardly from this marker, being shot by a small band of stragglers from the Federal lines on the morning of April 2nd, 1865.
Erected by A.P. Hill Camp Sons of Confederate . . . — — Map (db m3595) HM
Following their breakthrough near the Boisseau and Hart Farms, Federal soldiers of Major General Horatio G. Wright’s Sixth Corps poured over the earthworks southwest of Petersburg and into the Confederate rear. Some Federals penetrated as far as a . . . — — Map (db m15428) HM
As the enemy must have massed on the right of our line, they must have left their own line weak. How would it do for us to attack along the whole length of our line?"
—Gen. Horatio G. Wright, USA
"The enemy swarmed up to the . . . — — Map (db m266512) HM
This bridge spans a small branch of Arthur’s Swamp. The ravine created by this streamlet had important consequences for both the defending Confederates and the attacking Union troops. The earthen mounds immediately in front of you are the remains . . . — — Map (db m15418) HM
Near here, the 6th Maryland Infantry (Union) made their penetration of the Confederate fortifications. Major Clifton K. Prentiss, a 29-year-old from Baltimore, helped lead his unit in the Breakthrough only to fall wounded with a rifle ball in his . . . — — Map (db m15332) HM
An old mill stood here, with earthworks. On October 27, 1864, General Hancock, coming from the south, attempted to cross the run here and reach the Southside Railroad. He was supported on the east by Warren's (Fifth) Corps. The Confederates, . . . — — Map (db m180608) HM
Leaving from a point along the Confederate right flank on Boydon Plank Road on 14 Sept. 1864, Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton took about 3,000 Confederate cavalrymen and rode more than 100 miles around the rear of the Union army. Reaching Coggins’ Point on . . . — — Map (db m14775) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m19000) HM
Central State Hospital traces its origins to a mental health hospital for African Americans established ca. 1866 by the Freedmen's Bureau at Howard's Grove, near Richmond. The Commonwealth of Virginia assumed control of the facility in 1870. In 1882 . . . — — Map (db m180087) HM
This cemetery is the final resting place for thousands of patients treated at the nation's first stand-alone psychiatric hospital for African Americans, originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum and later renamed Central State Hospital. The . . . — — Map (db m180083) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m180775) HM
The two mounds on the lawn in front of you mark the locations of winter huts built by soldiers of Brigadier General Samuel McGowan’s South Carolina brigade during the winter of 1864-65. McGowan’s troops established several camps in this area . . . — — Map (db m15410) HM
Brigadier General Samuel McGowan’s South Carolina Brigade spent the winter of 1864-1865 very close to the fortifications they defended. A temporary scarcity of building materials in the early winter compelled many of McGowan’s men to rely on their . . . — — Map (db m15424) HM
From here at Fort Welch, you can see the ground over which soldiers struggled during three distinct battles. On October 2, 1864, Federals advanced across the ground to your left in an attempt to capture the key Confederate intermediate supply . . . — — Map (db m266510) HM
To the north stood William Turnbull's house, Edge Hill, headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee from 23 Nov. 1864 to 2 Apr. 1865 during the siege of Petersburg. Here, after dawn on 2 Apr., Lee learned of the Union attack that soon shattered his lines and . . . — — Map (db m17547) HM
Pamplin Historical Park has created these replica earthworks to suggest how this area might have looked during the winter of 1864-65. Both armies at Petersburg constructed long lines of field fortifications. Engineer officers used standard manuals . . . — — Map (db m15427) HM
Outbuildings on antebellum farms and plantations served a variety of functions. Structures such as tobacco barns had a specific purpose. Others, such as this simple shed, played multiple roles on the farm, often dictated by the season of the year. . . . — — Map (db m285468) HM
Welcome to the Reams Station battlefield! In the summer of 1864, two battles of the significant Petersburg Campaign raged across this ground for control of the Petersburg (Weldon) Railroad. Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederates defended Petersburg . . . — — Map (db m243283) HM
In the hours, days, and years after the Breakthrough, many Union soldiers boasted that they or their regiment were the first troops to capture the Confederate works on the morning of April 2. Darkness, the chaos of the attack, and the wide Federal . . . — — Map (db m15311) HM
“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 . . . — — Map (db m7861) HM
Lee's right wing was defended by earthworks on this stream, here and to the east. These works were unsuccessfully attacked by Union forces, February 5-7, 1865. On the morning of April 2, 1865, they were stormed by Union troops. — — Map (db m180609) HM
"Time is passing and Richmond is still not ours. I think it cannot be long now before the tug will come which, if it does not secure the prize, will put us where the end will be in sight."
—Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, USA
"The only . . . — — Map (db m184324) HM
"Every point of the enemy's [line] was carefully felt and examined for a weak point; none such, however, was found."
—Gen. John F. Hartranft, USA
"Our boys went into line with their accustomed cheer, and the yankees seeing our . . . — — Map (db m184682) HM
"We expected to 'rush' the rebels, but on reaching the creek we found it too deep for fording, and the enemy in good rifle-pits on the other bank, about 25 yards away."
—Pvt. Richard McBride, 190th Pennsylvania Infantry, USA
"The . . . — — Map (db m184870) HM
"Newspapers try to make the best of our [failed] 'reconnaissance.' This affords a vast deal of amusement, considering there were greater exertions and preparations made for this expedition than any previous one."
—Col. Charles S. . . . — — Map (db m184895) HM
This upper middle-class dwelling is one of the earliest surviving structures in Dinwiddie County. Unfortunately, the name of original builder has been lost to time. The architectural evidence suggests that the house evolved in four phases between . . . — — Map (db m11974) HM
The design of this building is typical of slave quarters built on Virginia plantations during the 1840s and 1850s. Each side provided space for one slave family, with a room downstairs for living and working and a loft for sleeping. The right side . . . — — Map (db m15444) HM
A nineteenth-century kitchen garden of one acre, about the size of a football field, could be maintained by one person and provide produce for 10-15 people. The management of the kitchen garden generally fell to the women of the household. The . . . — — Map (db m285465) HM
This monument honors the soldiers of Lane's North Carolina Brigade, who defended this portion of the Confederate works on April 2, 1865. The Union assault struck first near this spot, triggering hand-to-hand fighting that claimed more than half . . . — — Map (db m285481) HM WM
Colonel Damon’s regiment, the 10th Vermont Infantry, struck the Confederate trenches about 300 yards southwest of this position (to your left) during the attack on April 2, 1865. He vividly remembered his role in the battle: “We immediately . . . — — Map (db m285349) HM
"When a man is on picket at night he is monarch of all he surveys. No one living has more absolute power than he. His word is law."—Corp. Lewis Bissell, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, USA
"I have seen veterans of three full years . . . — — Map (db m266509) HM
Major James Augustus Weston
33rd North Carolina Infantry
Lane's Brigade, Wilcox's Division
Third Corps
Resident: Hyde County, North Carolina
Enlisted: September 1861
Weston remembered his experience during the Breakthrough . . . — — Map (db m285479) HM
Brigadier General Samuel McGowan, a 43-year-old lawyer and politician from Abbeville, South Carolina, commanded the troops responsible for maintaining these fortifications from October 1864 through March 1865. McGowan’s Brigade consisted of five . . . — — Map (db m15413) HM
184 entries matched your criteria. The first 100 are listed above. The final 84 ⊳
