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
By early 1865 the Federal army’s two remaining objectives along the Petersburg front were the Boydton Plank Road, an intermediate wagon supply route into the city, and the South Side Railroad, a major transportation artery from Lynchburg and the . . . — — Map (db m6501) 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 m6504) 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
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
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 two . . . — — 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 . . . — — 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
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 m6225) 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
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
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 m6224) 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 . . . — — Map (db m6226) 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 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
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 School . . . — — Map (db m26834) 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 . . . — — Map (db m32648) 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
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
“I was exceedingly anxious to attack at once, for the sun was getting low, and we had to fight or go back.” - Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan On March 31, 1865, Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan retreated down this road to . . . — — Map (db m6214) HM
(side 1)
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 . . . — — 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 Federals, . . . — — Map (db m15324) 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 m15313) 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 m15377) 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 m15381) 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
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 m17697) 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
“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 . . . — — Map (db m7749) 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 m126048) 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
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
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 m17696) 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 m15451) HM
Lieutenant Colonel Ronald A. Kennedy 5th Vermont Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division (Getty), Sixth Corps Resident: Concord, Vermont Enlisted: June 18, 1861 Kennedy and his men passed this very spot during their attack on April 2, 1865. He . . . — — Map (db m15329) 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
Here, the Union’s Sixth Army Corps broke through the Confederate line defending Petersburg, causing a series of actions which eventually led to the evacuation of the city by Lee’s army that evening. Nearby, Confederate General A.P. Hill was killed . . . — — Map (db m6080) 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 . . . — — Map (db m85913) 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 route, . . . — — Map (db m85935) HM
“The charge of Major-Gen. Wright’s veterans under cover of the darkness and mist … will forever live in history as one of the grandest and most sublime actions of the war.”—Sgt. Newton J. Terrill, 14th New Jersey . . . — — Map (db m89714) HM
"We have set what we call Johnny catchers ... long poles set into the ground with the upper end about as high as a man's head and they are so thick that a rabbit could not crawl through."—Corp. Andrew W. Burwell, 5th Wisconsin . . . — — Map (db m155596) HM
In 1938 the Virginia Assembly chartered a residential care facility for mentally retarded African-American males between 8 and 21 years of age. The Petersburg State Colony for the Negro Insane, as it was named, was located on the present site of . . . — — Map (db m23455) HM
Sergeant John E. Buffington 6th Maryland Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division (Seymour), Sixth Corps Resident: Carroll County, Maryland Enlisted: August 1862 Sergeant John Ezra Buffington, with five other men of his regiment, stormed the . . . — — Map (db m15379) HM
With the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1, 1865, Confederate general Robert E. Lee's defense of Petersburg and Richmond had been lost. On April 2, Union General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a general assault against the Petersburg lines and . . . — — Map (db m78094) HM
Throughout the summer of 1864 Union General Ulysses S. Grant made several unsuccessful assaults against the Confederate defenses around Richmond and Petersburg. Then, in the fall of 1864, the Union won decisive victories on other fronts of the war. . . . — — Map (db m78095) HM
The Sixth Maryland Infantry attacked over this ground in the pre-dawn hours of April 2, 1865. A portion of the regiment, led by Major Clifton K. Prentiss, poured over the Confederate works here, suffering numerous casualties in the process, . . . — — Map (db m48443) HM
Major General Horatio G. Wright deployed the 14,000 attackers of his Sixth Corps in a wedge-shaped formation. Although the entire battle front extended for nearly a mile, the point of the wedge was here, manned by the Vermont Brigade commanded by . . . — — Map (db m15307) HM
Welcome to the Banks House. This 18th-century home was typical of other upper-middle class farms in Dinwiddie County, except for 24 hours on April 2-3, 1865 when it became military headquarters for Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. From here, . . . — — Map (db m11944) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m126047) HM
On the final day of the Battle of Peebles’ Farm, October 2, 1864, Union troops of Brigadier General Gershom Mott’s Third Division, Second Army Corps, moved against the Confederate breastworks at the Hart Farm. Mott had orders to determine if the . . . — — Map (db m15397) HM
Welcome to the Civil War Preservation Trust’s White Oak Road Battlefield! The battlefield walking trail is a two-thirds-of-a-mile path that takes you past six wayside signs interpreting the 1865 battle, the remains of the Confederate earthworks, and . . . — — Map (db m14795) HM
It was March 1865. The Civil War had raged across battlefields from New Mexico to Pennsylvania for four desperate years. More than three million men had fought and more than 600,000 men had died but, finally, the war was winding to a close. The . . . — — Map (db m14797) HM
General Grant wanted to force his way around the Confederate right flank and cut the last remaining supply lines into Petersburg. The offensive began on March 29, 1865. Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan’s cavalry moved towards Dinwiddie Court . . . — — Map (db m14805) HM
With their success at Lewis Farm, Union troops gained a foothold on one of Lee’s supply routes, the Boydton Plank Road. It was strategically necessary for the Federals to control this road because it was a major route Confederate General Robert E. . . . — — Map (db m14807) HM
Early on the morning of March 31, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee sent most of a division forward to attack the Federals from this location at White Oak Road. Fighting through the morning, the Confederate brigades enveloped and put to flight . . . — — Map (db m14811) HM
As the fight progressed, the Confederates met stiffening resistance. Lee and his subordinates realized they had too few troops to hold their advanced position. They determined to withdraw to the slight earthworks constructed by the Federal soldiers . . . — — Map (db m14813) HM
The Battle of White Oak Road left the Federals in position to block Confederate reinforcements from reaching their comrades further west. Both the Battle of White Oak Road and the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House were preludes to the climactic April . . . — — Map (db m14816) HM
This landscape re-creates elements of a typical Southside Virginia plantation during the mid-nineteenth century. Tudor Hall, an original nineteenth-century building, was at the center of a farm that supported the owner, his family, and their slaves. . . . — — Map (db m15438) HM
Many nineteenth-century Virginians buried deceased family members near their homes rather than in distant church yards. While we do not know when this cemetery was established, the only grave marker on this property belonged to Martha Eliza T. . . . — — Map (db m15450) HM
On the evening of April 1, 1865, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant issued orders for a massive attack against the Confederate lines defending Petersburg. Grant scheduled the assault for the following morning. In the pre-dawn darkness of April 2, . . . — — Map (db m15376) HM
Colonel Olcott and his regiment crossed the entrenchments about 350 yards to the northeast of this position (to your right) during their attack on April 2, 1865. His experience was similar to that of the Vermont troops who fought
on this ground: . . . — — Map (db m89712) HM
“… after going through a leaden and war hail storm, thanks to the God of Battles, I am alive and happy. Our Corps charged the enemy’s lines last night, broke their line and drove them out of sight … I never felt more like fighting than I . . . — — Map (db m15390) HM
A walk along the Breakthrough Trail is a journey into history! On April 2, 1865, thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers clashed here to determine the fate of Petersburg and Richmond. The Breakthrough Trail leads past many original features of . . . — — Map (db m15393) HM
“Christmas has come and gone. I spent it at Mrs. Banks’ where I had quite a sumptuous repast, finishing up with eggnog, cake, etc. I ate so much sponge cake that whenever you would touch me, it would be just like squeezing an India rubber . . . — — Map (db m11949) HM
Once the sixth Corps completed its Breakthrough, corps commander Horatio wright ordered seven of his eight brigades to pivot southwest and move against the remaining Confederate defenses north of Hatcher’s Run. Wright assigned just one brigade, . . . — — Map (db m89713) HM
The earthen wall in front of you is a part of the main Confederate defense line begun in 1864 and defended until April 2, 1865. You are standing behind the line facing southeast towards the Union positions about one mile away. When Lieutenant . . . — — Map (db m15415) HM
This extension of The Breakthrough Trail leads to the historic Hart House, a ten minute walk from here. The trail parallels the Confederate earthworks that extended across the Boisseau farm (Tudor Hall) to the neighboring Hart farm to the southwest. . . . — — Map (db m15399) HM
Charles H. Carr, a native of New York, purchased twenty acres from the Boisseaus of Tudor Hall in March 1859. He began construction of the house in front of you shortly afterwards. Carr died in July 1862 while enlisted in the Confederate army. In . . . — — Map (db m15404) HM
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