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Petersburg • East • Southeast • West • Monuments • Markers • Facts • Timeline

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Stop Seven of the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour is at Fort Morton. Fort Morton was originally known as the Fourteen Gun Battery. It was from this vantage point that Major General Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Union Ninth Corps, watched the Battle of the Crater.

About the Battle of the Crater

The battery at Fort Morton and the vantage point are at the end of a 240 yard path from the parking area.

Siege of Petersburg – Grant’s Third Offensive orientation marker
Prelude to the Crater and View of the Crater from Fort Morton*

• *These two markers have been removed ard are provided for historical reference.

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Siege of Petersburg – Grant’s Third Offensive orientation marker

The orientation marker is at the south end of the parking area.

Text from the orientation marker:

Siege of Petersburg – Grant’s Third Offensive

July 30, 1864 The Battle of the Crater

Standing here behind Union lines in Juy 1864, you would have seen the result of Union General Ulysses S. Grants’s attempt to break the Confederate hold on Petersburg. Grant’s plan was to lure Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s forces to Richmond and then to strike at Petersburg’s weakened defenses.

Text from the map:

July 28, 1864 – Union forces attack Confederate defenses of Richmond at Deep Bottom forcing Lee to send reinforcements from Petersburg.

July 30 – Grant’s Plan worked and only 18,000 Confederate soldiers were in Petersburg when the Battle of the Crater exploded.

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Map to the location of Stop Seven

Stop Seven of Auto Tour is at Fort Morton, 2.25 miles from the Visitor Center. (37°13’10.2″N 77°22’10.3″W)

Directions to the next stop on the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour: Continue south and west on Siege Drive about 0.7 mile. Stop Eight is on the right.