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 fi rst 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 battlesites.

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.