“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 . . . — — Map (db m7061) HM
A Unique History
A local historian once wrote that "during its siege Petersburg endured an ordeal of shelling which was extraordinary in the history of the world." It was estimated that more than 800 buildings were struck during the . . . — — Map (db m149588) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m231206) HM
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 Stedman.
“We were very much elated at first, as we thought we had won a . . . — — Map (db m180684) HM
The Petersburg area has an extraordinarily rich African-American heritage. In 1625, most of the Africans in Virginia were servants at Flowerdew Hundred, nearby in Prince George County. In the 18th century, tens of thousands of newly enslaved . . . — — Map (db m57366) HM
Trail Sites
1. Pocahontas: In 1784, four small towns at the convergence of three counties (Pocahontas in Chesterfield, Blandford in Prince George, and Petersburg and Ravenscroft in Dinwiddie) were combined and incorporated as . . . — — Map (db m66952) HM
Petersburg’s architectural heritage has a long and rich history, reflecting centuries of occupation by Native Americans and over 300 years of European settlement. Beginning as a frontier trading post with the Virginia Indians, Fort Henry was . . . — — Map (db m175053) HM
Petersburg is in the midst of a downtown renaissance, fueled by the arts and driven by the creative spirit of the community. Historically a center of culture and trade for the region, Petersburg’s abundant natural resources and rich history are . . . — — Map (db m57369) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17624) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17504) HM
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, . . . — — Map (db m6543) HM
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) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14546) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17633) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17634) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17635) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14552) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14558) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m180611) HM
Founded in 1878 as the first seminary for the theological education of African Americans, this school was associated with St. Stephen's Normal and Industrial School in Petersburg, which was overseen by the Rev. Thomas Spencer. In 1884, the . . . — — Map (db m180090) HM
The Bishop Payne Divinity School began here in 1878 at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Normal and Industrial School. For 71 years it prepared black men for the ministry in the church. Giles B. Cooke (1838-1937) headed the vocational school and . . . — — Map (db m196938) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m175101) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m6538) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m209207) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14593) HM
Charles Stewart, horseman, was born into slavery near Petersburg and spent part of his childhood on Pocahontas Island. At or about age 12 he was sold to William R. Johnson, one of the foremost figures in horse racing, the America’s most popular . . . — — Map (db m130190) HM
Petersburg.
Appamattuck Indian Fish Traps, Appomattox River near Old Town. Considered to be the largest and most intact fish dams in Virginia, these sturgeon dams are made of loose stones forming a series of v-shaped tunnels by . . . — — Map (db m57324) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17528) HM
On June 18 1864 the Confederates on this hill repulsed the charge of the First Maine Regiment
On March 25 1865 from this salient General John B. Gordon led a body of picked men to surprise and capture Fort Steadman — — Map (db m37414) HM
The Colquitt’s Salient Trail is paved with moderate slopes.
The Colquitt’s Salient loop trail will lead you over ground involved with two of the most dramatic events of the Siege of Petersburg.
On the walk to Colquitt’s . . . — — Map (db m184281) HM
On the moonlit night of June 17, 1864, Confederate infantrymen pulled back to this ridge and started digging. The next day, Union attacks against Colquitt's Salient ended in a bloody disaster for the Federals.
For the next nine months, the . . . — — Map (db m218413) HM
This monument stone sits on a 10’ deep concrete bunker that was discovered during construction, together with portions of an abandoned railroad track. The bunker was used to store coal for the furnaces in the large buildings which once stood on the . . . — — Map (db m48485) HM
“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 . . . — — Map (db m185018) HM
Suspecting a Union mine, the Confederates dug two listening galleries here. They narrowly missed striking the Union tunnel, which was deeper. The depressions you see were caused by the cave-in of these galleries. — — Map (db m184975) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17640) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17555) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17656) HM
On the morning of July 30th, 1864, the Union high command became anxious as to why the mine under the Confederate position, had not been sprung. While General Meade was sending dispatches to General Burnside asking when the mine would detonate, at . . . — — Map (db m184403) HM
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.” . . . — — Map (db m7032) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m7030) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m26011) HM
Petersburg established a public school system in 1868, two years before the state's mandate. Colored Elementary School #1 (as it was called) was conducted in the old church building of the African Baptist Church, which stood to your left. The . . . — — Map (db m180100) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m1994) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14565) HM
The octagonal building stands on land given to the Town of Petersburg in 1876 by Robert Bolling, an affluent early merchant, in trust always to be used as a market site. Erected in 1878-1879, the present market building is the fourth to have been . . . — — Map (db m149589) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m181489) HM
First Baptist Church, one of the nation's oldest African American congregations, traces its origins to 1756, when worshipers known as New Lights began meeting outside Petersburg. The congregation moved to the city about 1820 and opened a sanctuary . . . — — Map (db m149855) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m14569) HM
(front)
Maine.
First Heavy Artillery
in memory of
604 brave members who fell
charging here
June 18, 1864
Union
Maine - Virginia
Peace
(rear)
Members of the
First Maine Heavy Artillery
who were . . . — — Map (db m37412) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m17613) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17626) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m195799) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m3765) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17623) HM
Fort Patrick Kelly is a good example of a rear area supporting fortification during the winter of 1864-65. In and around this fort, Union troops were encamped in winter quarters, all the while ready to man the breastworks if a Confederate attack . . . — — Map (db m204793) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m180683) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m180685) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m14673) HM
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. — — Map (db m17544) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m17618) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17632) HM
This salient named for Brig.-Genl. Archibald Gracie of Alabama, faced the Federal Forts Stedman and Haskell and was successfully held by the Confederates during the entire siege of Petersburg. — — Map (db m37415) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17627) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17628) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m213793) HM WM
About this house swirled the tide of battle on June 18, 1864, and during “Lee’s Last Grand Offensive,” March 25, 1865.
(caption) Sketch by A.R. Waud — — Map (db m184280) HM
Joseph Cotten, actor, was born in Petersburg. At school he excelled in football and on the stage. He appeared in several Broadway productions during the 1930s and joined Orson Welles’s Mercury Theater company. Cotten made his film debut in 1941 . . . — — Map (db m102266) HM
[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. . . . — — Map (db m16004) HM
In this vicinity on 18 June 1864 Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain received a near-fatal wound while leading a Union brigade in a charge against Confederate works defending Petersburg. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant promoted him to Brig. Gen. of Vols. “on . . . — — Map (db m79063) HM
“The cool frosty morning made every sound distinct and clear, and the only sound heard was the tramp! Tramp! Of the men, and the cries of the Federal picket as he ran with all speed into the fort shouting, “The Rebels are coming! The . . . — — Map (db m218409) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m48442) HM
At noon on April 7, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his party left City Point for Petersburg in a special train on the newly repaired City Point Railroad, arriving in the city half an hour later. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and their young son, . . . — — Map (db m48656) HM
(preface)
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 9½-month-Iong siege of Petersburg neared its end. Lincoln joined him on March 24. . . . — — Map (db m48662) HM
Howard Baugh (1920-2008) was born and raised in Petersburg. He graduated from what is now Virginia State University in 1941, joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and completed pilot training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1942. Deployed to Sicily with the . . . — — Map (db m130185) HM WM
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, . . . — — Map (db m6752) HM
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) HM
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) HM
(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): . . . — — Map (db m14619) HM
Mayfield, a classic example of Colonial Virginia architecture and the oldest standing brick house in Dinwiddie County, was once the manor house of a 1400-acre plantation. The probable builder and first owner was Robert Ruffin, friend of George . . . — — Map (db m208553) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17652) HM
McKenney House
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Circa 1890
[Additional plaques below:]
Historic Building
Petersburg Virginia . . . — — Map (db m149584) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m20609) HM
Petersburg's main public library, the William R. McKenney Library, is housed in a dwelling constructed in 1859 by John Dodson, a prominent lawyer and a former mayor of Petersburg. After the Civil War, the Confederate general and railroad . . . — — Map (db m180105) HM
Newmarket Racecourse, a one-mile oval built just north of here by 1793, was among the foremost tracks in the nation when horse racing was America's most popular sport. Races were significant social events that attracted competitors and spectators . . . — — Map (db m149851) HM
Appomattox Point & the Indian Trade
In the 1600s, just north of the present day market, the Appomattox River took a sharp turn around a horn of land known as Appomattox Point. The Quaker Indian traders Robert Hix and John Evans set up a . . . — — Map (db m57327) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17521) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m17653) HM
Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
“Walk along these fortifications, take the time to learn something about the story of what happened here, use the museum to understand who these men were, and the . . . — — Map (db m57351) HM
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