Richmond National Battlefield Park

About this property

The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city with defensive fortifications and battle sites around it. 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 enabling abundant wildlife. == Richmond National Battlefield Park sites in Richmond == 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. 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 (March 17 - May 31, 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. 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. 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 (June 25 - July 1, 1862) === A rapid sequence of battles (sometimes reckoned as part of the Peninsula Campaign), initiated by the newly-appointed Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. McClellan soon had to retreat, but Lee failed in his plan to cut-off the Union army. 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.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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