National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Petersburg National Battlefield The Siege of Petersburg A Views of the National Parks virtual experience

etersburg National Battlefield Features Petersburg was the sight of a 9-1/2 preserves the cultural and natural month siege during the Civil War that This experience was designed to provide resulted in General Grant capturing Presources that offer a window to past the user with a variety of teaching tools to Petersburg and Richmond, the capital events in the American Civil War. With five learn the why and how of protecting the of the Confederacy. (Library of railroad lines and key roads, Petersburg park’s natural and cultural resources. Congress and NPS Photos) was an important supply center to the Confederate capital in Richmond. This city • Introduction became the setting for the longest siege of Watch a video of historic images of the the Civil War when Union General Ulysses Civil War and modern day images of the S. Grant decided to cut off Confederate same landscape. The video provides an General Robert E. Lee’s supply lines into orientation to the battlefield units. The siege goes bravely on. The Petersburg and Richmond. • Grant’s Headquarters at City Point two armies keep digging away Once the home of a wealthy plantation under each other’s guns. The The Siege of Petersburg explores both owner, this site was the headquarters of General Grant and became one of the hardships to be endured are stories of the past and preservation issues busiest seaports in the world during the very great, but all have now of the present. Through the eyes of a war siege. Explore Grant’s cabin, read a diary general, a plantation owner, a soldier, a schooled themselves down so of a surgeon and a plantation owner, and that they are met as a matter surgeon, an engineer, or a civilian you can learn how to supply an army. of course. learn about military operations and the • Eastern Front impacts on those involved. Through Views, During the 9-1/2 month siege, soldiers — Color Sergeant D.G. Crotty you can experience the current challenges from both armies were entrenched in the Third Michigan Volunteer of protecting the natural resources associ- fields around Petersburg. Experience life Infantry, Army of the Potomac ated with this historic landscape. A closer under fire by taking orders as a soldier, look at each unit within the park will learn how to fire a cannon and dig a provide the viewer an understanding of the fortification, and examine the siege of war and its causes, impacts, and legacies to Petersburg through the eyes of United States Colored Troops, a doctor, a child, generations of Americans. Visit Views of the National Parks online: and a civilian woman. www2.nature.nps.gov/views As part of the Petersburg virtual experience, you can assume the role of an infantry soldier on the front lines.

• Western Front Partners Read a diary of a military railroad engineer, The Natural Resource Program Center study troop movements using interactive (NRPC) teamed up with interpretive maps that highlight the military campaign rangers at Petersburg National Battlefield from the Richmond and Petersburg fronts, and explore the challenge of preserving and members of James Madison battlefields in developing rural areas. University’s College of Integrated Science and Technology to create this virtual • Five Forks Battlefield Compare the letters and diaries of a Union experience. We do not pretend to say how and a Confederate soldier, equip a cavalry long we will have a rest, nor soldier, and learn about the significance of Contact us do we care much, for we are cavalry regiments during the siege and Petersburg National Battlefield so used to hardships that specifically the Battle of Five Forks. Robin Snyder - Education Specialist [email protected] almost everything is done • Poplar Grove National Cemetery This site became the final resting place for (804) 732 - 6094 x204 without a murmur. 6,178 Union soldiers who fought in the trenches and fields surrounding — Color Sergeant D.G. Crotty Views Project Petersburg. Learn about soldiers buried Third Michigan Volunteer Bruce Nash - Project Manager Infantry, Army of the Potomac there and those who worked to establish [email protected] this National Cemetery, take a virtual tour (303) 987 - 6697 of the site, and examine the challenges of preserving burial stones.

Teacher Resources The Teacher Guide provides teachers (both local and distant) with curriculum-based activities and lesson plans that can be used in the classroom and in the field. These teaching tools include both history and science-based lessons on Civil War- related themes and battlefield preservation that can be printed or viewed on the Visit Petersburg National Battlefield online: computer. National teaching standards www.nps.gov/pete have information about which science and social studies standards can be met using this virtual experience. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM February 2006