In early 1865 the Union army had been holding Petersburg, Virginia under siege for nine months. The Union finally managed to break through the Confederate trenches on April 2 sending Lee’s army into a retreat which ended the Civil War. The park has preserved portions of the trenches along with the original plantation house that was used for Confederate General Samuel McGowan’s headquarters.
The park is partially accessible. Both the Museum of the Civil War Soldier and the Battlefield Center are accessible but the path between them has sections of loose stone that is hard to push through. The basement of the Tudor Hall Plantation house has a ramp to the entrance but again the path leading to it is composed of loose stone. The entrance to the first floor of the plantation house has many steps and no ramp. One of the cabins in the slave quarter has a doorway which may be too narrow for many wheelchair users. The other cabin,which has a display about slavery, has steps and no ramp at the entrance. More loose stone in this area. The paved pathway to the Hart farm has a very steep section. The trails around the property are a combination of concrete, boardwalk, loose stone, and hard packed sand. Most wheelchair users will need to have some help.
The Museum of the Civil War Soldier has little written information, just numbered displays so that visitors can decide what they wish to hear about by punching the correct numbers into a provided MP3 player. I don’t know if a written brochure is supplied for visitors who can not use a MP3 player. The rest of the park has interpretive signs along with the recordings.
The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Pamplin Park
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