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The ‘A Splendid Charge’ wayside marker is at Stop Three on the Auto Tour at the beginning of the Meade’s Station trail. This was the location of Confederate Battery 9 of the Dimmock Line, which was attacked and captured by African-American troops on the first day of the Petersburg fighting.
The marker is next to the “Meade’s Station Trail” wayside marker.
From the marker:
“A Splendid Charge”
Here at Petersburg on June 15, 1864, African-American troops recorded their first major success of the war in Virginia.
“They made a splendid charge…and won great favor in the eyes of white soldiers by their courage and bravery.”
– Wilbur Fiske, 2nd Vermont Infantry
June 19, 1864
After the capture of Battery 5, some of the 3,500 black troops swept southward, routing Confederates before them. At dusk, they charged on Battery 9 and swarmed over the works. During two hours of fighting on the Dimmock Line that evening, the U.S. Colored Troops (official designation) captured dozens of Confederates and six cannons.
From the caption to the inset map:
The Union advance on Batteries 8 and 9. Battery 9 stood on this spot, at the intersection of the Prince George Court House and Jordon Point Roads.
From the caption to the inset photo:
African-American troops performed important services during the Siege of Petersburg. On April 3, 1865, black troops would be among the first Union soldiers to enter the fallen capital of Richmond.
