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Contact: Emmanuel Dabney, 804-732-3531
On Saturday, March 4, Petersburg National Battlefield will host a special event “The Foregoing Sale: Honoring Enslaved People at City Point” which will pay tribute the lives of enslaved men, women, and children who were sold by and to the Eppes family. This is both a daytime and evening event. The afternoon program will begin at 1:00 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church, located at 505 Cedar Lane in Hopewell and conclude at the General Grant’s Headquarters Unit located at 1001 Pecan Avenue. The tour will include an exhibition of bills of sale, diary entries, and an 1837 inventory courtesy of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and Prince George County, Virginia Clerk’s Office. Following is the schedule for the day and evening events:
Schedule of events:
1:00 pm: The Life and Times of James Madison Ruffin with a floral tribute to him and his daughter at St. John's Episcopal Church
1:45-3:00 pm: Guided tours of Plantation House, Historic Documents on the Slave Trade exhibition, and outbuildings. Final tour will take place at
2:303:15-3:45 pm: Insight into the Richmond Slave Trade through Bins, Henry Corsen, and Jim Booker (indoor lecture)
4:00-5:30 pm: House is closed but grounds remain open
5:30-7:30 pm: Evening program
Evening Program: From 5:30-7:30 pm, visitors will be able to gather at Appomattox Plantation for the special program featuring Akoma De Gado Dance and Drum Ensemble and a libation ceremony. Following the libation ceremony, the program will continue with remarks about the people who were sold at the site on March 2, 1837, a reading of their names, and a light projection done by the Reclaiming the Monument, who are projection protest visual artists headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Free parking will be available at the visitor parking lot located at 1001 Pecan Avenue in Hopewell.
About Slavery at Appomattox Plantation
The Eppes family established themselves in what is now Hopewell, Virginia in 1635 acquiring acreage at the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers in what is now modern-day Charles City, Chesterfield, and the City of Hopewell (formerly Prince George County). The earliest records include 8 Africans whose status is unknown. By 1860, Richard Eppes owned the estate and kept 113 enslaved people on his property. In 1837, his father’s debt encumbered estate was settled which included selling 45 enslaved men, women, and children.
If you go
The General Grant’s Headquarters Unit of Petersburg National Battlefield is where Ulysses S. Grant made his headquarters during the 292-day siege of Petersburg. Signage focuses on the area’s importance to the Union army as one of the largest supply bases in the nation, as well as the lives of civilians, free and enslaved, who lived and worked at Appomattox Plantation prior to the Civil War. The visitor contact station is open seasonally when staffing permits. For more information, please contact Petersburg National Battlefield at (804) 732-3531 ext. 305.
Last updated: February 10, 2023