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Cultural Landscape Report for the Federal Left Flank and Fish Hook Siegeworks Petersburg National Battlefield

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Cultural Landscape Report for the Federal Left Flank and Fish Hook Siegeworks Petersburg National Battlefield National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR THE FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS PETERSBURG NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD SITE HISTORY, EXISTING CONDITIONS, ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR THE FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS Petersburg National Battlefield Site History, Existing Conditions, Analysis and Treatment Prepared by: Roger Charles Sherry, Cultural Landscape Architect University of Virginia School of Architecture Charlottesville, Virginia Project Manager: Eliot Foulds, Historical Landscape Architect National Park Service Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation Brookline, Massachusetts October 2004 The Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation promotes the preservation of significant landscapes through research, planning, stewardship, and education. The Center accomplishes its mission in collaboration with a network of partners including national parks, universities, government agencies and private nonprofit organizations. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation 99 Warren Street Brookline, Massachusetts 02445 617.566.1689 <http://www.nps.gov/frla/oclp.htm> Publication Credits: Information in this report may be copied and used with the condition that credit is given to the authors and the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation. This report has been prepared for in-house use, and will not be made available for sale. Photographs and graphics may not be reproduced for re-use without the permission of the owners or repositories noted in the captions. Cover Image: Engraving of Fort Fisher, during early 1865, made from the vantage point of the Union observation tower at Peebles Farm, Library of Congress. CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………............ v PREFACE………………………………………………………………………………………………….. xi INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT 1 STUDY AREA 1 SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY 1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW 3 FINDINGS 4 FIGURES - INTRODUCTION 7 SITE HISTORY…………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 PRE-HISTORY TO THE CIVIL WAR 11 CIVIL WAR PERIOD 13 POST CIVL WAR PERIOD 46 PRESERVATION PERIOD 51 FIGURES - SITE HISTORY 63 EXISTING CONDITIONS……………………………………………………………………………… 99 FORT WHEATON 100 FORT URMSTON 101 FORT CONAHEY 102 FORT FISHER 103 BATTERY 27 105 FORT WELCH 106 FORT GREGG 107 FIGURES - EXISTING CONDITIONS 109 SIGNIFICANCE AND INTEGRITY………………………………………………………………….. 129 CURRENT NATIONAL REGISTER STATUS 129 EVALUATING THE MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS 130 FIGURES - SIGNIFICANCE AND INTEGRITY 133 LANDSCAPE TREATMENT…………………………………………………………………………… 137 THREATS TO EARTHWORKS PRESERVATION 137 REACHING CONSENSUS ON VEGETATION MANAGEMENT 141 SUMMARY OF CBA ALTERNATIVES 144 SCHEMATIC DESIGNS FOR THE FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS 162 FIGURES - LANDSCAPE TREATMENT 181 SOURCES…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 195 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 199 NOTES……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 241 iii CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS - PETERSBURG NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD iv LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Study area for Federal Left Flank and Fish Hook Siegeworks. The study area of this report was once intended as part of a National Park Service tour road system organized to feature both Union and Confederate fortification surrounding the city of Petersburg, Virginia. Graphic adapted from Petersburg National Battlefield’s 1941 Master Plan. __ Figure 2.1: Detail from a map of the vicinity of Petersburg Virginia. John Wood, c. 1829. This map depicts most of Dinwiddie County’s streams. A scarcity of roads is also evident. The place-name ‘Indian Town Creek’ is derived from a Native-American village, once located just upstream from Petersburg on the Appomattox River. The study area, occupying an area between two watersheds, is read as high ground. Confederate forces recognized the strategic value of this area when constructing fortifications early in the course of the Civil War. Courtesy Virginia State Library. Figure 2.2: Detail from 1827 map of Petersburg, emphasizing regional hydrology and Petersburg’s relationship with its waterfront. Isham Hargraves, Dinwiddie Co. Surveyor. Courtesy Dinwiddie County Court House. Photo by Roger C. Sherry. Figure 2.3: Keiley Map. This map of 1854 clearly indicates the Boydton Plank Road, its toll gate and mile markers, measuring distances from Petersburg shown in the upper right. As crude as it may be, such a map would have been of service to Frederick Law Olmsted on his horseback ride south of Petersburg in 1853, a trip during which he became lost amongst the old fields and Loblolly Pines. Boydton Plank Road would eventually become a segment of modern day U.S. 1. Courtesy Virginia State Library. Figure 2.4: Five railroads emanated from Petersburg in 1864, forming a nexus of commerce and transportation. Graphic by Roger C. Sherry. Figure 2.5: The earthen defenses of the Dimmock Line, built in part with slave labor, encircled Petersburg for over ten miles and included fifty-five artillery batteries. Graphic by Roger C. Sherry. Figure 2.6: Rows of sharpened stakes placed out in front of fortification were used to help repel an attacking force. Library of Congress. Figure 2.7: As artillery barrages reduced its masonry surfaces to rubble, Fort Sumter was revetted with gabions filled with cotton and sand - effectively making it into an earthen fortification - and more resistant to attack. Library of Congress Figure 2.8: A typical Signal Corps lookout perched atop a pine tree commands a view of the surrounding terrain. Harper’s Weekly 5 November 1864. Figure 2.9: Print of Union troops arriving by train at the front ‘before Petersburg.’ The railroad quickly became a vital component of General Grant’s siege on Petersburg, rushing men and material to the front lines. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. 22 October 1864. Figure 2.10: Federal troops heated captured southern rails over fires fueled by cross-ties, then bent them into forms popularly known as ‘Grant’s hairpins.’ Harper’s Weekly 31 December 1864. Figure 2.11: Print of U.S. Military Railroad on trestle. While the railroad responded to demands of the camps and adapted to their position, it simultaneously conformed to the topography of the landscape. Harper’s Weekly, 5 November 1864. Figure 2.12: Federal troops cutting a railroad through dense forests south of Petersburg. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. 1 October 1864. Figure 2.13: This pontoon bridge carried the Army of the Potomac towards Petersburg in June of 1864. Patriot Publishing Company. Figure 2.14: The landscape surounding Petersburg was devastated by the armies to create fields of fire and to provide materials for construction. Library of Congress. Figure 2.15: Sap rollers provided cover from sharpshooter’s bullets as soldiers dug new trenches and traverses into fields of fire. This work was often accomplished at night. Alfred R. Waud, July 1864. Figure 2.16: Clumps of trees stood as remnants of the previous forest amidst a changing landscape of militarized terrrain around Petersburg. Harper’s Weekly 5 November 1864. Figure 2.17: Bombproofs built of logs and soil protected soldiers from artillery blasts, flying shrapnel, exploding shells and inclement weather. Library of Congress. Figure 2.18: Sharpshooters and pickets hunkered down in makeshift rifle pits dug in advance of the fortified lines. Harper’s Weekly, 5 November 1864. v CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR FEDERAL LEFT FLANK AND FISH HOOK SIEGEWORKS - PETERSBURG NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD Figure 2.19: Soldiers in the trenches were acutely aware of incoming sniper fire which was deadly accurate. Notice soldier pointing to the hole in his hat. Harper’s Weekly 24 September 1864. Figure 2.20: New agents from northern papers hawked headlines along rail sidings and behind the camps. Library of Congress. Figure 2.21: Advertisements featuring prosthetics appeared regularly in newspapers and weeklies. This ad appealed directly to Civil War veterans. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 22 February 1865. Figure 2.22: This photo taken by Alexander Gardner shows an officer’s tent adorned with pine boughs and foliage from the surrounding forest to create shade and ‘individualize’ the accommodations. Dover Press. Figure 2.23: Camp amusements took many forms; here a popular game of ten pins was improvised from a log frame that was sometimes used as a gallows to execute deserters. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 3 Deccember 1864. Figure 2.24: Cockfighting was not generally sanctioned on Union lines. Alexander Gardner captured this rare scene on the Petersburg front. August 1864. Dover Press. Figure 2.25: The Union 9th Corps passes the small Meeting House at Poplar Spring en route to Peebles farm. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 22 October 1864. Figure 2.26: Colonel Norval Welch mounts the parapet while leading the 5th Corps charge on Fort Archer. He is fatally shot a moment later. Harper’s Weekly, 22 October 1864. Figure 2.27: Federal troops arrive at Warren Station to fight at Peebles farm 30 September 1864. Harper’s Weekly, 22 October 1864. Figure 2.28: Following the Battle of Peebles Farm, Union Engineers directed construction of Fort Welch. The ruins of the Peagram house are situated just beyond the construction. Harper’s Weekly, 5 November 1864. Figure 2.29: This front page engraving and its acompanying story, appeared thee weeks after the Battle of Peeble’s Farm. It depicts both
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