Petersburg • East • Southeast • West • Monuments • Markers • Facts • Timeline
The Eastern Front of the Petersburg National Battlefield is maintained as a National Battlefield Park by the National Park Service. The entrance to the Petersburg Eastern Front Auto Tour is from E. Washington Street (Virginia Route 36) on the east side of Petersburg. The one-way drive is four miles long and exits onto Crater Road (U.S. Route 301).
Stop 1 – Confederate Battery 5, Visitor Center
Stop 2 – Confederate Battery 8
Stop 3 – Confederate Battery 9
Stop 4 – Harrison Creek
Stop 5 – Fort Stedman
Stop 6 – Fort Haskell
Stop 7 – Fort Morton
Stop 8 – The Crater
The Eastern Front of the Petersburg National Battlefield preserves the sites of three important milesstones of the Siege of Petersburg.
The Assault on Petersburg from June 15 – 18, 1864 was the opening move of the Siege. Union troops overran the east side of the Dimmock Line but failed to exploit their surprise and numbers. Confederate reinforcements forced an end to the attacks and the armies dug in. Tour Stops One through Three are at Confederate batteries captured during the initial assault. Stop Four covers ground where the attacks slowed; Stop Five is at the site of the attack of the First Maine Heavy Artillery whose slaughter ended the series of Union assaults.
On July 30, 1864, Union troops exploded a giant mine they had tunneled under Confederate lines. The mine was a success, but the Battle of the Crater that followed was a horrible failure for the Union.
By March of 1865 the Confederate position was becoming desperate. Lee’s gambled on a bold surprise attack on Fort Stedman that would break the Union line and cut the supplies for most of the Union army. Fort Stedman was captured, but immediate Union counterattacks sealed the breach and killed or captured most of the attackers. It would be the last major assault of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War.
The Eastern Front Driving Tour takes the visitor through these areas. Numerous walking trails and interpretive markers and monuments let the visitor explore the battlefield on foot.