About Petersburg National Battlefield
Petersburg National Battlefield preserves key portions of the 292-day Petersburg Campaign, the prolonged struggle in 1864 and 1865 during which Union forces tightened their hold on the railroads and roads supplying Petersburg and the Confederate capital at Richmond. The campaign involved extensive trench warfare, repeated offensives, the service of United States Colored Troops, and roughly 70,000 military casualties before Confederate forces abandoned both cities.
The Eastern Front Visitor Center is the most practical starting point. Its film, exhibits, artifacts, maps, and staff orientation introduce the campaign before visitors explore preserved earthworks, batteries, battlefield trails, and the tour road leading toward places associated with the opening assaults, Fort Stedman, and the Battle of the Crater.
Additional park units interpret Grant's headquarters and supply base at City Point, the expanding Union lines west of Petersburg, Poplar Grove National Cemetery, and the Battle of Five Forks. The combination of well-preserved terrain and multiple perspectives makes the park especially valuable for understanding how logistics, fortifications, combat, and emancipation converged during the Civil War's final year.
