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The “Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line” wayside marker is at Stop One on the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour, outside the entrace to the battery on the walking trail leading from the Visitor Center. The marker was updated in 2024. Both versions of the text are shown for historical perspective.
The earthworks of the battery are at the end of a short trail from the Visitor Center. The marker is ahead on the right at the entrance to the battery.
Text from the original marker:
Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line
In 1862 – two years before the first Federals appeared at the city’s gates – Confederate Captain Charles Dimmock oversaw the construction of a ten-mile line of defensive works ringing Petersburg. In front of you is Battery 5 one of the largest of the fifty-five artillery positions in the Dimmock Line.
Most of the works you see at Battery 5 were built by slaves. The parapet to your left, shown on the diagram to your right in blue, was added by the Federals after the battle here on June 15, 1864.
Far Right: On June 15, 1864, more that 30,000 Union troops marched from the east toward the Dimmock Line. Only 2,300 Confederates stood between the Federals and Petersburg.
Caption to the background photo:
This photograph, taken from just inside Battery 5, shows how the battery looked a few days after the capture by the Federals. During the Siege of Petersburg, Battery 5 would be more than a mile behind the rest of the Union siege Lines.
Text from the updated “Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line wayside marker”
Beginning in August 1862, Confederate Captain Charles Dimmock oversaw the construction of a ten-mile line of defensive fortifications around Petersburg. Free and enslaved Black laborers performed most of the work. In late spring 1864, work stopped on the Dimmock Line due to US army troop movements. In June 1864, a Confederate officer noted the lines were still weak. Battery 5 was one of the largest of the fifty-five artillery positions on the Dimmock Line.
Caption for the background photos:
Defences of Petersburg Engineer Service, Slave Roll for Sept, Oct, & Nov 1863. $68.67 Petersburg Negroes.
Battery 5 a few days after it was captured by the US Army. (Library of Congress)
Inside Battery 5. The trail continues in the distance on the left over the earthworks and down the scarp via wooden stairs.
Descending the scarp of the battery. The trail continues into the woods, past the mortar “Dictator,” and loops back to the Visitor Center.
Location of the marker
The ‘Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line’ wayside marker is on the walking path about 170 yards north of the Visitor Center at the entrance to the earthworks of the battery. (37°14’42.5″N 77°21’25.7″W)