Appomattox Manor is a former plantation house in Hopewell, Virginia, United States. It is best known as the Union headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864–65. The restored circa 1751 manor house on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

and

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...

, and the grounds are managed by the National Park Service. The museum there,

Grant's Headquarters at City Point Museum Grant's Headquarters at City Point is a museum operated by the National Park Service at Appomattox Manor in Hopewell, Virginia. It is a unit of the Petersburg National Battlefield Park. City Point was a port on the James River. During the last ye ...

, is a unit of the

Petersburg National Battlefield Park Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monum ...

Before the war

The Eppes family home was a century old by the time Union forces occupied the site in 1864. It had been built on a large tract of land acquired by Captain Francis Eppes in 1635 and by the time of the American Civil War it was the center of a plantation covering more than 2,300 acres (9.3 km²).

The war years

In 1861 Appomattox Plantation was owned by Dr.

Richard Eppes Richard Eppes (May 2, 1824 – February 17, 1896) was a prominent Planter (American South), planter in Prince George County, Virginia and a surgery, surgeon in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Eppes is notable for his ...

. Though he owned three plantations and nearly 130

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, Dr. Eppes was not a strong secessionist. Yet when Virginia cast her lot with the South he took up arms by joining a local

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

unit. He soon left the army to become a contract

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

at a Confederate hospital in

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

. The Eppes family remained at their home until 1862 when the arrival of Union gunboats on the

forced them to flee their home for the safety of Petersburg. Soon thereafter nearly all of their slaves left with those Union forces. When the war came to Petersburg two years later Mrs. Eppes and the children fled again, this time to her mother's home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Appomattox Plantation was used as the offices of U.S. Quartermaster Rufus Ingalls and his staff during the siege.

City Point City Point of CityPoint may refer to: United Kingdom * CityPoint, an office tower in London, England United States *City Point (New Haven), a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut * City Point, a section of the South Boston area in Boston, Massac ...

was a port on the James River. During the last years of the Civil War, from the port there, the City Point Railroad was used to support the Union forces during the Siege of Petersburg 1864–65. The successful capture of Petersburg and its network of railroads was the key to the fall of the Confederate capital city of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, ending the war less than a week later. After the surrender, when Dr. Eppes returned he found his house in near ruin and his plantation nearly destroyed. Not until March 1866 with the last Union regiments gone and the property back in his name did his wife and children return home to pick up the pieces and start anew. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The manor house and surrounding land was donated to the National Park Service by the Eppes family. It is located in the

City Point Historic District City Point Historic District is a national historic district located at Hopewell, Virginia. The district encompasses 85 contributing buildings and 3 contributing sites at the tip of a peninsula at the confluence of the Appomattox River and Ja ...

References

National Park Service

James River Plantations, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary

External links

Appomattox Manor, Cedar Lane, Hopewell, Hopewell, VA
at the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
National Park Service, Operating Hours & Seasons
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia American Civil War sites James River plantations Virginia in the American Civil War Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Hopewell, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia Houses completed in 1751 Houses in Hopewell, Virginia Plantation houses in Virginia 1751 establishments in Virginia