Petersburg Project

8/24/2022

Greetings. Since our last update here. Julia Steele and David Lowe have retired from the National Park Service and if anything here conflicts with NPS policies, then we officially no longer care. We all had a good ride. It is time for the youngsters to take over. Our colleague, Dr. Philip Shiman is still working full-time (poor soul) for the US Defense Department in a classified position. He doesn't talk to us much, but when he does, we listen. We will continue to contribute to the Petersburg Project and hope to bring others on board as contributors. We appreciate all of our visitors. Together, we are putting the Siege of Richmond and Petersburg on the map where it belongs--the longest continuous battle of the American Civil War and where modern trench warfare originated. Thanks, David, Julie, and Phil.

7 Comments

Chris Gerlach link

11/18/2022 06:41:32 pm

We have been working to create a virtual recreation of the entire region of Petersburg to City Point incluiding the military railroad, and all details of the city and the region in 1865, our projects is 3 years old now and going strong. I hope to get in touch with you on the team please contact me
Chris Gerlach M.A. C.F.A,. Oxon
City Point Army Line 1865 Project Director and Lead

this website and your combined research has contributed GREATLY to our work and we wish to collaborate. We have collected over 16 GB of photos, files and data including files from the US Army Combined Archives. Please get in touch.

David Lowe link

10/17/2023 02:30:08 pm

Chris, David Lowe here. You can reach me at [email protected].
I have finally dug down to your message and am abashedly late in response. No diss intended. Your work is quite impressive. Particularly ability to measure heights, widths, etc. I know little about the 3-D software you're using but would certainly like to learn more. And animation? that would be a big plus. At a minimum, we would like to use some of your recreations to illustrate and add interest to some of our pages with full credit of course and we will link to your sites. I am sure you have made strides since this posting. How is it that we could help further your work? David

Chris Gerlach

10/17/2023 02:47:53 pm

hi David,
thanks very much for the interest. We are just about to start installing a years worth of modelling to create Petersburg, some 800 models. I will share pics when complete, will take us some months to complete detailing the town, adding inhabitants, military forces, the siege lines for both sides, vegetation, horse drawn vehicles. Some will be animated. You are welcome of course to use any of our imagery or work as it will help. Will keep in touch.
Chris Gerlach
City Point Army USMRR Line Petersburg Siege Project 1865 Director

Chris Gerlach M.A. C.F.A. Oxon link

11/18/2022 08:05:39 pm

Following up on our message about our City Point USMRR Project, we are just now buidling Petersburg using original maps and info. If we could get a high rez copy of the large map you posted of downtown with all of the structures it could help a lot we found the full Beers Map Set of 1870 in Paris. Our project is using a railroad simulation program so the trains will be able to be operated by viewers as well as the steamships on the river, we plan to detail the battle field of the seige in full detail and have completed City Point and the USMRR line up to about half way. The track for all of the confederate RRs in Petesrsburg is laid and some of the significant structures already in place. We have a senior Architectural Engineer, a highly skilled landscape photographer, experts on Steam Machinery and RR and some master modellers on our team and are privately funded. We would very much like to communicate any of your team still active. We very much appreciate the incredible work you have done. We plan to release our project to the Smithsonian, the Park Service and any Civil War historical entities that may have use for it. We plan to include the raid by the Capital Fleet from Richmond at Trents Reach and viewers of the project will be able to operate the irconcclads and witness the battle. It is our hope to help preserve the history of both sides for all who were there were Americans and our ancestors and the history significant in many ways for the freed slaves known then as countrebrand, formed a huge part of the gigantic construction corps on the Union side who built the entire City Point base and all of the many fortifications and that would not have been possible without them so it is their history too. Please respond to us via my e mail above.
Chris Gerlach
Project Director

Anthony Briglia link

9/25/2023 09:21:04 am

I would like to give some information on the subway system And also which I do believe is a Mass grave

Isabelle Brogan

11/28/2023 07:52:06 pm

I would like to know if this is still an active project (late Nov. 2023) and if so, I’d love to know more or follow what you do or somehow participate- even if only as a bystander/ fan. I’d also like to know whether there were any soldiers, troops, anything really, positioned west of the Canal street corridor and up along the canal basin and if the length of the canal going west was commandeered by either army. Were there troops on the old Dunlop farm and around N.South st and near the estimated site of Fort Henry, and westwards towards Battersea. I understand there was a hospital down there? And how was the canal used during the civil war and in the years prior to its demise and fill.
I love exploring that area and if there any photos of the area where the SAL arches stand BEFORE they were there, I’d love to see those. I’d love to see Any photos of the intersection of the canal at the basin and how water was funneled down to the mills at the Commerce St bridge, essentially that whole west high street area when it was still the Dunlop farm and the canal and mills. Thanks!

Mike Willegal link

2/20/2024 10:21:03 pm

I see on this web page (http://www.petersburgproject.org/pitkins-station-to-shooting-hill.html)
that the fire on the USMRR Trains crossing shooting hill was from Reeves Salient(maybe should be Rives). I’m wondering where this information came from as I’m thinking based on the maps that I have looked at that the fire might have come from Elliotts Salient instead. In any case I have an account in a log kept by an Assistant Engineer at City Point that the fire was from a Whitworth, though I’m not sure how this was determined. There were only a few Whitworths deployed by the ANV, so I suppose that it might be possible to find some account from the Confederate side in regard to this.

I did some research into Hardaway/Hurt’s Alabama Artillery which had 1 Whitworth at Petersburg, but couldn’t find anything online about shooting at trains.

Any thoughts?

-Mike W

Petersburg Project

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