The Confederate Fortifications
The Breakthrough Trail
The earthen wall in front of you is a part of the main Confederate defense line begun in 1864 and defended until April 2, 1865. You are standing behind the line facing southeast towards the Union positions about one mile away.
When Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s forces established a toehold on the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad in August 1864, General Robert E. Lee lost his direct communication and supply line to North Carolina. This break in the rails forced the Confederates to off-load supplies at Stony Creek Station, eighteen miles south of Petersburg, and transport them by wagon to Dinwiddie Court House. From there, the Boydton Plank Road (modern U.S. Highway 1) led directly into Petersburg.
In order to protect this new supply line, Lee expanded his defenses eight miles to the southwest parallel to the Boydton Plank Road. The well-preserved fortifications in front of you formed only a part of an extensive defensive network protecting Richmond and Petersburg that by the spring stretched some 45 miles in length.
Marker can be reached from Duncan Road (Virginia Route 670), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
