Petersburg National Battlefield
Preserves Civil War siege sites in Virginia.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Petersburg National Battlefield · see source
Where it is
Coordinates: 37°13′08″N 77°21′40″W (37.2190, -77.3610) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Petersburg National Battlefield (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
The Siege of Petersburg (1864–65) is commemorated at this National Park Service site, which spans parts of Prince George County, the city of Petersburg, and outlying areas in Hopewell and Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Roughly 140,000 people visit the battlefield annually. The park preserves key locations from the Union campaign to cut Confederate supply lines and capture Richmond, including the Eastern Front, Five Forks, and City Point.
Park Units
Petersburg National Battlefield includes three main sections plus one additional site under its care. The Eastern Front Visitor Center, on Virginia Route 36 east of Petersburg, is the primary stop for visitors and features exhibits and films on the Siege of Petersburg, along with a view of Battery #5, a key early location in the siege. The park tour starts here and follows a route from Virginia Route 36 to US Route 301, with stops at Fort Stedman and The Crater.
About 14 miles southwest of downtown Petersburg in Dinwiddie County lies the site of the Battle of Five Forks. This engagement, often called the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," wiped out a large part of the remaining Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and triggered the chain of events that ended with Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. In Hopewell, next to the James River, City Point sits within the City Point Historic District and was a major Union command and supply center during the siege. The 8.72-acre Poplar Grove National Cemetery is also managed by the battlefield.
Did You Know?
- The park was established as Petersburg National Military Park on July 3, 1926.
- It was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933.
- The park was redesignated as Petersburg National Battlefield on August 24, 1962.
More in National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Petersburg National Battlefield (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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