Petersburg is a city in Virginia located on the Appomattox River and 23 miles (37 km) south of the state capital of Richmond.
During the American Civil War, because of the railroad network, Petersburg was key to Union plans to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. The city saw nine months of trench warfare during the 1864-65 Siege of Petersburg. Battlefield sites are throughout the city and surrounding areas, partly preserved as Petersburg National Battlefield.
