Petersburg • East • Southeast • West • Monuments • Markers • Facts • Timeline
The longest campaign
The Petersburg Campaign, also known as the Siege of Petersburg, lasted nine and a half months, from June of 1864 until April of 1865. It was the longest campaign of the Civil War. The fighting covered over 500 square miles around the vital railroad hub of Petersburg, Virginia. The “siege” was made up of a series of battles and skirmishes punctuating the dreary, dirty, and deadly routine of trench warfare.
Today you can visit the battle sites and the remains of over 100 miles of earthworks that still stretch across the landscape, view the monuments and learn about the fighting from the historical and wayside markers.
Petersburg Eastern Front – Petersburg Southeast
Petersburg Western Front – Reams Station
Hatcher’s Run – White Oak Road
Five Forks – Sutherland Station
Preserving the battlefields
The way these areas have been preserved is as diverse as the fighting that went on there.
The Petersburg National Battlefield Park’s Eastern Front is the largest area of preserved land. It includes a driving tour through the sites of the initial Assault on Petersburg, the Battle for the Crater, and the Battle of Fort Stedman. The Western Front portion of the park follows a driving tour that connects small plots of preserved land. Southeast Petersburg is not part of the National Park but includes several monuments and areas preserved by the CIty of Petersburg.
Several important fights during the Siege of Petersburg are treated as separate battles. Five Forks is part of the Petersburg National Battlefield Park and preserves much of the battlefield as it was in 1865. Reames Station, Hatcher’s Run and White Oak Road all have small plots of ground reserved and interpreted by other organizations.