Photo above: Soldiers behind defenses at the siege of Petersburg, courtesy Library of Congress. Right: Reenactors at Petersburg National Battlefield, courtesy National Park Service.

Petersburg Then

It's a siege with plenty of battles within it as Grant tried to cut off supply lines and Lee tried to prevent that. Some of those battles have reached the stage of lore, i.e. the Battle of the Crater, as well as the final Battle of Five Forks. Others were important pieces of the puzzle, all fitting in a tightening of the noose that Grant was trying to achieve and eventually did. It's hard to keep it all in context and somewhat hard to visit as the park is spread out around the city all the way to the James River. And the final piece, the actual Petersburg Breakthrough, is not within the Petersburg National Battlefield itself, but in the private Pamplin Historical Park. That might have something to do with why the Petersburg Battlefield does not get as much credit, visitation, or love as some of the others in the war, but that does not diminish its importance. It would lead to the end of the war. Throughout the timeline of the battles here, on or near their actual dates, the 150th Anniversary events will be ongoing. This might be a good time to visit and help those attendance numbers.

There are so many stories and battles surrounding the siege of Petersburg and those nine plus months that it is hard to focus on a few, but we'll pick two, and probably the two most well known; the Crater and the Battle of Five Forks.

The Battle of the Crater - If it were in the context of a made up movie, you wouldn't believe it. How soldiers who were miners turn into miners again, dig a tunnel, plant explosives, then blow up their enemy above. And, in the end, the ones who blew up their enemies, lost the battle. Go figure. It started in late-June when the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry with a miner at its head, Lt. Colonel Henry Pleasants, took an idea to his Corp commander Burnside, then dug under the Confederate First Corps. On July 30, the mine was exploded, but the subsequent attack failed as Union troops, included USCT troops, dipped into the crater. Union losses were two and one half times greater than the Confederates.

The Battle of Five Forks - Now this action should really get more credit in the annals of Civil War history, but it gets lost in the shuffle of Lee and Grant at Appomattox, which it directly led to. On the southern end of the Petersburg lines, General Sheridan and his soldiers fresh from their days in the Shenandoah Valley, plus the Union 5th Corops under General Warren, would fight against General Pickett of Gettysburg fame in a showdown of forces to take the crossroads there and the Southside Railroad on April 1, 1865.

Photo above: View from the interior of the Petersburg defenses at Stop #3 of the Eastern Front auto tour. Photo below: Boardwalk bridge into the outer defenses of the Petersburg line.

Petersburg Now

Petersburg National Battlefield - As noted above, the Petersburg battlefield is spread out over three counties and thirty-three miles, but a good place to start in the Eastern Front Visitor Center. From there, you can find out about Battle Walks at all locations, or head out with a tour map on that thirty-three miles journey of thirteen sites and three visitor centers in all. This will take you to City Point where Grant was headquartered and down to the Five Forks Battlefield where the final great assaut would lead to Lee abandoning the city.

Pamplin Historical Park - Pamplin is a private historical park founded in 1993 by Portland businessman Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. It is not associated with the National Park, but does include the preservation of the historic district of the Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield, where the final Union breeching of the Confederate fortifications and trenches on April 2, 1865 led to the abandonment of Petersburg. The Park also has a National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, established 1999 as well as three historic homes and three other museums. A visit here takes two to four hours to see it all.