The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

sites around

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, which served as the capital of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city with defensive fortifications and battle sites around it.

Richmond in the American Civil War Richmond, Virginia served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for almost the whole of the American Civil War. Notwithstanding its political status, it was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war effort, as well as the t ...

Virginia voted to secede from the United States in May 1861, and became part of the Confederacy. As a major manufacturing centre, Richmond was soon chosen to be the Confederate capital. The environs of the city would witness much combat over the next four years. Richmond National Battlefield Park occupies almost 3000 acres in the coastal plain of Virginia, bounded by the James and Chickahominy River watersheds, much of it preserved as it would have looked in the civil war, with scenic meadows and

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

enabling abundant wildlife.

Richmond National Battlefield Park sites in Richmond

Tredegar Iron Works The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital. Tredegar supplied about half the artillery used ...

The chief ironworks of the Confederacy, and a big factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital. It supplied about half the artillery used by the Confederate States Army. ''Visitors centre and Civil War museum, National Park Service Rangers, interactive theaters, plasma-screen maps.''

Chimborazo Hospital Chimborazo Hospital was a Civil War-era facility built in Richmond, Virginia to service the medical needs of the Confederate Army. It functioned between 1862 and 1865 in what is now Chimborazo Park, treating over 76,000 injured Confederate sol ...

The Confederacy's biggest hospital camp, accommodating up to 4000 patients at a time, mainly for convalescence. ''Museum with surgical and medical displays, filmshow.''

Campaigns affecting Richmond: protected sites

Peninsula Campaign

(17 March - 31 May 1862) This was McClellan’s attempt to attack Richmond from the east, via the James River. Although obstructed by Confederate artillery, he managed to approach within four miles of the city, but was stopped in a surprise attack by General Joseph E. Johnston. : Chicakhominy Bluffs :Trying to take Richmond, McClellan was halted by this natural defensive barrier with the river at spring flood-level, and parts of his army separated from each other by the mile-wide waterway. :

Drewry's Bluff Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry, ...

:A sharp bend on the James River, whose defensive battery was too high for the Union Navy’s guns to engage. The fleet had to withdraw, delaying McClellan’s proposed advance on Richmond.

The Seven Days Battles

(25 June - 1 July 1862) A rapid sequence of battles (sometimes reckoned as part of the Peninsula Campaign), initiated by the newly-appointed Confederate commander

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

. McClellan soon had to retreat, but Lee failed in his plan to cut-off the Union army. : Beaver Dam Creek :Also called Mechanicsville. Lee’s partner ‘Stonewall’ Jackson arrived (untypically) late, and the Confederates took heavy casualties, though the Union army retreated downstream to a safer position. ''Walking trail along the lower section of the creek.'' : Gaines' Mill :McClellan’s defenses seemed impregnable, but Lee mounted his biggest attack of the war with 57,000 men, and McClellan retreated to the James River, abandoning his campaign to take Richmond. ''Walking trails, interpretive signs.'' :

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

:Lee saw an opportunity to cut-off McClellan’s army from the river, but Union counter-attacks saved their line of retreat. Several Union generals were wounded and General

George A. McCall George Archibald McCall (March 16, 1802 – February 25, 1868) was a United States Army officer who became a brigadier general and prisoner of war during the American Civil War. He was also a naturalist. Biography McCall was born in Philade ...

was captured. ''Visitor Centre, seasonal.'' : Malvern Hill :Last of the Seven Days Battles. A tactical win for the Union, largely due to superior artillery, but their commander McClellan was absent, reconnoitring Harrison’s Landing, to where his army soon retreated. ''Visitor Centre, walking tour, driving tour.''

The Overland Campaign

(4 May - 12 June 1864) In

U.S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General of the United States ...

’s first campaign as General-in-Chief, he operated in the field, alongside the army commander

George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...

. It started with a standoff at the Battle of the Wilderness, followed by two defeats at Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. : Totopotomoy Creek :A failed attempt by Grant to lure Lee into open terrain. The Confederates were securely entrenched behind the creek, and resisted all assaults. The splendid mansion of

Rural Plains Rural Plains, also informally known as Shelton House, is a historic farm house dating to the 1660s in Mechanicsville, Virginia, Hanover County; it is one of the sites included within the Richmond National Battlefield Park. The building was adde ...

survived much bombardment. ''Tour of Rural Plains (Shelton House).'' : Cold Harbor :After some early success, Grant’s massive frontal assault against Lee’s fortified positions was beaten back with huge casualties. Grant said it was his biggest regret. But it would be Lee’s last victory. ''Visitor centre and forest trail with interpretive displays.''

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

(June 14, 1864 - April 2, 1865) After his reverses in the Overland Campaign, U.S. Grant settled into a siege, where he could bring his superior numbers to bear on Lee's over-stretched and starving Confederates. When Petersburg fell, the early surrender of Richmond was inevitable. :

Fort Harrison Fort Harrison, later renamed Fort Burnham, was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the American Civil War. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of f ...

:A key fortification in the defense of Richmond, it was captured by

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...

, causing Lee to move his whole line west. It was renamed Fort Burnham for a brigade commander killed in the action. ''Visitor centre, seasonal.'' :

Howlett Line The Howlett Line was a critical Confederate earthworks dug during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign of the United States Civil War in May 1864. Specifically, the line stretched across the Bermuda Hundred peninsula from the James River to the Appoma ...

:This was a defensive earthworks across the Bermuda Hundred peninsula, which enabled a small Confederate force to keep

’s army at bay ‘like a cork in a bottle’, in U.S. Grant’s phrase.

References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001-2003''. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links

* Official NPS website
Richmond National Battlefield Park
* ttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/va1021/ Powhite, Mechanicsville, Hanover County, VAPohwhite at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) {{authority control Battlefields of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Virginia in the American Civil War National Register of Historic Places in Hanover County, Virginia National Park Service areas in Virginia Protected areas established in 1936 American Civil War museums in Virginia Museums in Richmond, Virginia Parks in Chesterfield County, Virginia Parks in Henrico County, Virginia Parks in Richmond, Virginia 1936 establishments in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States