News Release

2024 History at Sunset Summer Series

Cannon in Sunset

NPS

News Release Date: April 15, 2024

Contact: Eric Schreiner, [phone] ext. 201

PETERSBURG, VA – History at Sunset monthly summer programs are returning for a third season. The free programs are being held on the third Saturday of the month beginning in May, with the final one in August. Each 60 to 90-minute program takes place at a different location in the Petersburg area. History at Sunset programs are in partnership with the Petersburg Battlefields Foundation. Programs require a small amount of walking. Drinking water and comfortable shoes are recommended. All programs are subject to change. Changes or cancellations will be announced on Petersburg National Battlefield’s Facebook page.

June 15: No Nobler Effort – United States Colored Troops in the Opening Assaults
Meet at the Eastern Front Visitor Center parking lot - 5001 Siege Road, Petersburg.Join a ranger for a brief caravan tour as we explore the history of the United States Colored Troops, their role in the “Opening Assaults” of the siege of Petersburg, and the impact that day had on Black soldiers throughout the Army.

June 29: Battle of Jones Farm 
Meet at the American Battlefield Trust parking lot at 6476 Church Road, Petersburg, across from the water tower. Following the Confederate repulse at Fort Stedman east of Petersburg on the morning of March 25, 1865, the Army of the Potomac’s VI Corps attacked the picket line of A. P. Hill’s Corps at Robert H. Jones’s farm later in the day, helping set the stage for the final breakthrough of Confederate defenses on April 2.

July 20: Spectacle of Appalling Grandeur: Artillery Use at Petersburg
Meet at the Eastern Front Visitor Center parking lot - 5001 Siege Road, Petersburg.Cannons and mortars were used extensively throughout the siege of Petersburg. Learn the tactics, see how they were fired, and understand why they were so terrifying. Caravan program on the Eastern Front tour road will have discussions at Stops 3, 5 (Fort Stedman), and 7 (Fort Morton).

August 17: Destroy the Railroad: The Second Battle of Reams’ Station
Meet at Reams’ Station Battlefield- 27800 Reams Drive at the intersection of Halifax Rd.The Petersburg and Weldon Railroad was one of the three supplying the Confederate forces in the summer of 1864. The Battle at Reams Station was a tactical victory for Confederate forces, but at what cost? The History at Sunset program series is co-presented by the Petersburg Battlefields Foundation.

Learn more about Petersburg National Battlefield at nps.gov/pete or follow @PetersburgNPS on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Learn more about the Petersburg Battlefields Foundation at www.petebattlefields.org or follow @PetersburgBattlefieldsFoundation on Facebook.