150th Anniversary: Battle of the Crater Schedule
July 30 – August 2, 2014
JULY 30, 2014
Explosion of the Crater
Time: 5:30 – 6:15 am
Location: Eastern Front Unit, Tour Stop 8
A commemorative program will take place at the time of the explosion. (804) 732-3531 x202.
Crater Battlefield Tour
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 am & 1:00 – 3:00
Location: Eastern Front Unit, Tour Stop 8
Rangers will be stationed along the Crater Battlefield Trail to tell the story of this battle.
Keynote Address and Unveiling of Petersburg Stamp by Postal Service
Time: 10:00 – 11:00 am
Location: Eastern Front Unit, Tour Stop 8
A keynote address will be given by Colonel Books of Ft. Lee and the United States Postal Service will reveal the Civil War Series stamp for Petersburg.
Pegram’s Artillery Battery
Time: Throughout the day until 3:00 pm
Location: Eastern Front Unit, Tour Stop 8
Petersburg National Battlefield’s volunteer artillery crew will give firing demonstrations during the day.
Remember the Glorious Dead: The Battle of the Crater
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Blandford Church Reception Center
A special event commemorating southern soldiers killed at the Battle of the Crater, this walking tour will allow participants to learn the story of this encounter, view memorial plaques and stones in Blandford Church and Cemetery and visit the final resting places of Confederate soldiers buried in the Memorial Hill section of the189 acre cemetery. Doors to the event open at 6:30 PM. Admission is free. This partnership event is sponsored by the City of Petersburg Museums and the Petersburg National Battlefield. For more information call 804-732-3531 x208.
AUGUST 1, 2014
Panel Presentation: Battle of the Crater
Time: 10:00 – 12:00 pm
Location: Gillfield Baptist Church, 209 Perry Street, Petersburg
Dr. Christopher Stowe (Marine Corps University), Mr. Hari Jones (Assistant Director and Curator of the African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation and Museum) and Park Ranger Tracy Chernault will address various aspects of the battle
Panel Presentation: Siege Life in Petersburg
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Location: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 10 Union Street, Petersburg
Ms. Heidi Campbell-Shoaf (Director/Chief Curator National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum) and Park Ranger Emmanuel Dabney will discuss how the siege impacted the lives of the citizens of Petersburg.
Remembering the Battle of the Crater
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 10 Union Street
Author Kevin Levin will speak on how Americans have remembered and commemorated one of the Civil War’s most devastating engagements
AUGUST 2, 2014
Parking will be in the City of Petersburg where free shuttle service will transport visitors to and from the Battlefield.
Ed Bearss: Lecture and Book Signing
Time: 10:00 am – Noon
Location Eastern Front Unit Stop #1
Noted historian and author Ed Bearss will speak on the actions of the Siege of Petersburg and will be on hand to sign books.
Battle of the Crater - Living History Program
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Eastern Front Unit
Stop #1
· Civilian re-enactors of the 12th Virginia will be presenting activities and displays on what the citizens of Petersburg did to get through the siege and how it impacted them.
· Virginia Civil War History Mobile will be on hand.
· Family activity area.
· Staff from Violet Bank talking about the site of one of Gen. Lee’s headquarters at Petersburg.
Stop #3
· Military engineering at the Siege of Petersburg
Stop #7
· Meet General Grant.
· Meet park archeologists and get hands on demonstration of ground penetrating radar.
· Union artillery demonstrations throughout the day.
Stop #8
· Meet General Lee.
· Confederate artillery demonstrations.
· Confederate and Union camps.
· “Union High Tide and Confederate’s Counterattack” ranger-led living history walk @ 10:00 am, 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm.
Living History Program: Meet Mrs. Julia Grant
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Grant’s HQ at City Point
Catch up with Mrs. Julia Grant, wife of General Ulysses S. Grant, at City Point where she lived during the final months of the siege.
For more information for any of these events please call 804-732-3531 x202.