Itinerary 4: Siege of Petersburg

Day 1

Pamplin Historical Park - The battle that determined the outcome of the campaign for Petersburg occurred here involving an attack of more than 14,000 Union troops on a section of fortifications located at Pamplin Historical Park. Allow 2 to 4.5 hours.

Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front - This four mile driving tour has audio stations, wayside exhibits and interpretive trails. Don't forget to stop and view the site of the Battle of the Crater. Allow 1-3 hours

Day 2

Five Forks Battlefield - Visit the battlefield where the Confederacy was defeated, assuring the fall of Richmond. Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Appomattox Plantation and Grant's Headquarters - Grant's headquarters radiates the feeling that General Grant will walk through the door any moment. Visit the plantation that is at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers. Walk where President Lincoln and General Grant walked during the last months of the Civil War. Allow 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.

Weston Plantation- Walk through history at Weston Plantation. Built in 1789, the main house was home to ordinary people who lived through some extraordinary times in American history. For much of the Civil War Weston was in the path of conflict. Located on the Appomattox River just up river from City Point, the house was shelled by Union gunboats and occupied by Union troops in 1864-65. The house was also home to a family of refugees from Hampton from the fall of 1863 to the spring of 1864. Emma Wood Richardson was a girl or 12 or 13 when her family came to Weston. Much later she wrote a delightful memoir about her families travels to escape the Union Army. Come to Weston to hear Emma’s story and the stories of the other families who made Weston their home. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours to visit.

Violet Bank Museum - General Robert E. Lee headquartered here during the Civil War and it was here that he received word that the Union troops had detonated over 8,000 pounds of gunpowder beneath Confederate defensive lines in what would become known as the Battle of the Crater. The museum displays a wide array of Civil War era artifacts: guns, furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, accouterments, books, swords and others. Allow 1 to 2 hours.
Grant's Headquarters at City Point - Grant's headquarters radiates the feeling that General Grant will walk thru the door any moment. Visit the plantation that is at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers. Walk where President Lincoln and General Grant walked during the last months of the Civil War. Allow 45 minutes to 1.5 hours .