Petersburg National Battlefield

Petersburg National Battlefield is the site of a grueling Civil War siege that spelled the end of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Located just south of Richmond, Petersburg was a vital rail junction supplying the Confederate capital. Ulysses S. Grant's armies reached the city on June 9, 1864, after a bloody campaign across Virginia, but were unable to penetrate Lee's entrenchments for 292 days, fighting several major battles before finally breaking through on April 2, 1865.

Lee's men fled west but were quickly caught and forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, ending major combat action in the Civil War.