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The Petersburg Battlefields
By Chris Calkins
 Chris Calkins has been with the National Park Service for 27 years and as a
historian at Petersburg National Battlefield since 1981. He has authored eight
publications and numerous articles, and has spoken nationally to many Civil War
and preservation groups. He is the author of the acclaimed "Lee's Retreat"
driving tour which is being used as a successful example for other regions in
Virginia and nationwide. He served on the Association for the Preservation of
Civil War Sites Inc. board of directors for eight years and helped broker the
preservation of seven battle sites around Petersburg and Appomattox during that
time.
In the
spring of 1865 the roar of cannon had barely subsided in Petersburg when the
curious began visiting the surrounding battlefields. There were those whose
intentions were simply to glean these fields of conflict of their salvageable
material like lead, iron and scrap wood. For them it was a new way of making a
living. Others, though, came with a different motive.
As early as August, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, showed
investigating tourists around the famous Crater left by the battle fought the
year before on July 30, 1864. About the same time, a paroled soldier from Lee's
army opened a "Retreat" near Fort Stedman where everything from
liquor to lemonade could be had for thirsty battlefield wanderers.
For the most part those who reclaimed their land upon which men fought and died
had little interest in preserving them. An article in a Petersburg paper noted,
"In a few years the great bulk of these works will have been plowed and dug
down.... Some of the stupendous forts may stand the test of time and be visited
by the curious, but they alone in the generations to follow will tell the tale
of the siege of Petersburg."
Even this statement was not entirely accurate in that among those soon to be
leveled were Confederate Fort Mahone and Union Fort Morton.
It appears that the greatest preservation interest of that time was in keeping
Fort Stedman, the site of General
Lee's last offensive on March 25, 1865, and the Crater battlefield. The latter
site was owned by William H. Griffith whose house along the Jerusalem Plank Road
(now Crater Road) was destroyed during the siege.
Noting the abundance of visitors to his farm, Griffith decided to accommodate
them. He "conceived the idea of preserving the crater intact, as the war had
left it...; and with that view he enclosed it, and added some conveniences and
attractions…."
The museum's register books of visitors to the Crater read like a who's who of
the former Confederate and Union armies. This museum continued in operation up
until after World War I, with the bulk of the artifact collection eventually
being placed at Petersburg National Battlefield.
In 1925 the site was sold to the Crater Battlefield Association Inc. which
constructed an 18-hole golf course on the property. Their clubhouse was built
just west of the crater and would later serve as the National Park's visitor
center, museum and headquarters.
It would not be until 1898 that the first effort was made to develop a
battlefield park at Petersburg. The Petersburg National Battlefield Association
was formed and a bill was introduced to Congress but was never given a hearing,
possibly because of the impending war with Spain. In 1900 Congressman Sydney P.
Epes introduced another bill but with the same result.
It would not be until 1923 that local Confederate veteran, Capt. Carter R.
Bishop, began yet another push for a park. To do so, he endeavored to gain the
support of influential Northerners for their assistance with the project.
Finally, on July 3, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill authorizing the
establishment of Petersburg National
Military Park. In order to secure funds for the park, the Petersburg Battlefield
Park Association was now formed. The money they raised was to aid in the
acquisition of land and then transfer it to the Federal Government.
At this time, Civil War national military parks were under the jurisdiction of
the War Department. As land was being acquired for the park, a 1928 local
newspaper article stated that, "Every landowner approached had readily agreed to
donate the necessary right-of-way and the site of the fort on his property." On
June 20, 1932, Petersburg National Military Park was officially dedicated to the
public.
It would be on Aug. 10, 1933, that the War Department officially transferred the
battlefield site to the National Park Service, Department of Interior. In the
same month, the Office of the Quartermaster General, U.S. Army, transferred
Poplar Grove National Cemetery to the
service, with the responsibility for its upkeep being assigned to Petersburg
National Military Park on Dec. 16, 1935. Poplar Grove, located south of the city
along Vaughan Road, was established in 1866 for those who died in the Petersburg
and Appomattox Campaigns.
Much of the earliest work completed for the park service in preparing the
battlefield for visitors was initially done by the Civilian Conservation Corps,
Company 1364. Still there was more left to do. Throughout the intervening years,
what were considered important tracts of land were added to the park's holdings.
In 1934 the Crater Battlefield Association and its golf course folded so that in
1936 the property was put at public auction. Paying $24,000 for the historic
property, 128 new acres were added to the battlefield. By the year 1940,
Petersburg National Military Park now preserved more than 2,000 acres in its
holdings, although this would fluctuate with time.
One event which took place on April 30, 1937, and is still remembered by many
local residents, was the famous re-enactment of the Battle of the Crater. The
participants involved were the V.M.I. Cadets, the Marines, and National
Guardsmen, nearly 3,000 troops. An estimated 50,000 spectators were on hand for
the event, while the famous Virginia historian, Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman,
provided narration. A number of Confederate veterans were spectators, with four
actually having taken part in the original battle.
To reach the Union and Confederate forts and trench lines which encircled the
city to the south and west, in 1934-1935 the construction of what were to be
known as Flank and Defense Roads began. These would allow visitors to reach a
number of the battlefields in (then) Prince George and Dinwiddie Counties.
In 1956 the National Park Service began a 10-year conservation and development
project known as the "Mission 66 Development Program." For Petersburg, this
program meant such things as a new visitor center, an interpretive driving tour
that would run from Battery Five to the Crater, and a bridge over Highway 36.
With this scheme, the visitor center operation at the Crater would now be moved
to Battery Five, the site of the opening battle for Petersburg on June 15, 1864.
Another important site added to the park's holdings in the late 1970s was the
City Point Unit in Hopewell. On Nov. 10, 1978, a bill was signed by Congress
which authorized 21 acres for acquisition, including the structure known as
"Appomattox Manor," ancestral home to the Eppes family. In later years, General
Grant's headquarters cabin, originally moved from City Point to Philadelphia
after the war, would also be returned to the site and reconstructed.
In 1959 the Dinwiddie County Civil War Centennial Commission endorsed the
establishment of a park unit preserving the Five Forks battlefield. A study was made and it was determined that about 1,200
acres would be needed to protect the site. In 1961 the battlefield would be
designated a National Historic Landmark and on
Aug. 24, 1962, Congress authorized the land
acquisition with no more than $90,000 provided for doing so. In the same bill,
the name Petersburg National Military Park was changed to Petersburg National
Battlefield to be consistent with other park areas at that time.
It would take 27 years and five attempts to bring the inclusion of Five Forks to fruition. In October 1989, the Richard King Mellon Foundation,
assisted by the Conservation Fund, purchased 930 acres of the battlefield from
the major landowner of the property. Along with this acquisition came the
donation by the property owner of a protective scenic easement on an additional
435 acres surrounding the park land. At a later date, another 185 acres were
obtained from an adjoining timber company for a total of 1,116 acres. All this
at no cost to the taxpayers. Currently the site is in its development stages
while a small contact station serves the public. A five-stop driving tour of the
battlefield has been implemented to date.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, came a resurgence of interest in our nation's
Civil War heritage. As a natural outgrowth of this awareness, citizens of the
United States also became more keenly
interested in the preservation of Civil War battlefields. The expensive contest
at Manassas to save the battlefield from destruction by the building of a mall
nearby also opened the eyes of many Americans. Following this fight, Congress,
by public law, formed the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission on Nov. 28, 1990.
Their report, published in 1993, documented that in the Petersburg area alone 19
sites were nationally significant.
In many cases already, the National Park Service, the Association for the
Preservation of Civil War Sites Inc. (now incorporated into
The Civil War
Preservation Trust), the Conservation Fund or the
Pamplin Foundation maintain
for perpetuity a number of these local battle sites.
As an outcome of this study, the park's staff would begin looking at ways to
somehow safeguard those areas listed. The main problem facing them was the
complexity of the historical event that transpired around Petersburg. The Siege
of Petersburg lasted almost a quarter of the Civil War (9-1/2 months), or 292
days to be exact.
During this time period there would be approximately six major battles, 11
engagements, 50 skirmishes, six assaults and four expeditions. Put in even more
precise terms, there are 109 "fields of armed conflict" comprising the
Petersburg Campaign. Therefore, in land terms, just the "campaign" for
Petersburg south of the
Appomattox River would cover over 2300 square miles in an area of 70 miles by 30
miles! The perplexing problem comes down to what can be reasonably protected and
what can't be.
In examining the situation, the first "truth" which must be agreed upon is that
you can't save it all. There must be those chosen sites which efforts can be
directed at. By using the data supplied by the C.W. Sites Advisory Commission,
the 19 battlefields are the top priority for conservation and interpretation. In
some instances, this has already been done.
Seeking to protect the "epicenter" in the core area of each battlefield, i.e.,
that sector which saw the heaviest fighting, we find that 11 of the designated
sites have at least some protection. Others have already been lost in past years
or even currently to development. How the others can be safeguarded is a matter
for discussion. Federal, state and local entities must work together for the
answers.
Today the mission statement of this National Park Service unit provides the
staff with guidelines for our daily operations. "Through effective park
management, we shall strive to preserve and protect the historical, cultural,
and natural resources of Petersburg National Battlefield in a manner that will
provide interpretation, education, and enjoyment for the people of the United
States while leaving the resources unimpaired for future generations."
This is a much bigger job today that it has been in the past, with development
pressures and shrinking budgets changing the way we carry out our mission.
Nonetheless, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the park, we pay homage to
all those who in the past had the foresight to protect for us one of our most
cherished national treasures, Petersburg National Battlefield.
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