The Battle of Reams Station
The Petersburg (& Weldon) Railroad
As early as September 1829, business interests in Petersburg wanted to build a railroad between Petersburg, Virginia and Weldon, North Carolina. The railroad would connect the Appomattox and Roanoke river and attract trade away from Norfolk, Virginia (which was connected to North Carolina by a canal). The Petersburg (& Weldon) Railroad was incorporated on February 10, 1830 making it one of the earliest railroads in the United States. By 1833, a trip could be made along sixty miles of the line.
By the time of the Civil War, the Petersburg Railroad accessed the coast of North Carolina and the interior of the Deep South. At Weldon, N.C., the Petersburg Railroad connected with the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad, which enabled cargo from this line to be rapidly transferred from the coast to the war front. Other connecting railroads linked the Petersburg Railroad to lines leading to the Deep South.
By the spring of 1864, the Petersburg Railroad was of even greater importance because it was one of the only two main supply arteries for General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. All types of necessary war material, including food for troops and fodder for animals, passed along this corridor, making it and the South Side Railroad Lieutenant General U.S. Grant's two primary objectives during the Petersburg campaign.
The original roadbed of the Petersburg Railroad is the present day Halifax Road in front of you.
Marker is at the intersection of Halifax Road (County Route 604) and Oak Grove Road (County Route 606), on the right when traveling south on Halifax Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
