The Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield is a historic district in Dinwiddie County, near Petersburg, Virginia. It was the location of the Third Battle of Petersburg, in which the Union Army broke through Confederate Army lines protecting Petersburg and Richmond on April 2, 1865, during the American Civil War. The success of the breakthrough led to abandonment of Richmond by General Robert E. Lee, a general retreat, and surrender at Appomattox Court House one week later. Portions of the area were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, and a different portion (overlapping the first) was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Much of the battlefield area is part of Pamplin Historical Park, a private park that interprets the battle.DescriptionThe Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield is located just southwest of Petersburg. It is a large area, roughly bounded on the northwest by United States Route 1, to the north by the Rohoic Woods Apartment complex on Virginia State Route 670, the east by Hofheimer Way and Church Road (Virginia State Route 672), and on the south by Arthur Swamp, an area that drains south into the Nottoway River. The battlefield area is located on private land just west of the Fort Fisher and Fort Welch area of Petersburg National Battlefield, a U.S. National Park Service-administered area. Much of this area is part of Pamplin Historical Park, a private park which interprets the battle.
