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The “Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line” wayside marker is at Stop One on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour, outside the entrace to the battery on the walking trail leading from the Visitor Center.
The earthworks of the battery are at the end of a short trail from the Visitor Center. The marker is at the entrance to the battery.
From the 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.
From the 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.
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)