Petersburg
, city, administratively independent of, but located in, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties, southeast
Virginia
, U.S. It lies along the Appomattox River (bridged),
adjacent
to Colonial Heights and
Hopewell
, 23 miles (37 km) south of
Richmond
.
In 1645 Fort Henry was built at the falls of the Appomattox, the site of the present city. The name (earlier, Peter’s Point and Peter’s Town) reputedly honours Major Peter Jones, who became commander of the fort in 1675. In 1733 Colonel
William Byrd II
surveyed the site, but it was not until 1748 that an act of the colonial legislature established the town. During the
American Revolution
it was captured by British troops under General
William Phillips
and
Benedict Arnold
(April 25, 1781). On May 20,
Lord Cornwallis
arrived with his army to prepare for the campaign that was to end with his
surrender
at
Yorktown
. In 1784 the towns of
Petersburg
, Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were combined and incorporated as Petersburg. It was the scene of the
Petersburg Campaign
during the
American Civil War
, 10 months of bitter fighting during which Union and Confederate forces suffered more than 70,000 casualties.
The city’s manufactures include cigarettes, textiles, chemicals, luggage, and furniture. It is the seat of Richard Bland College (1960; a branch of the College of William and Mary), and
Virginia State University
(1882). Historic sites include the 4.25-square-mile (11-square-km) Petersburg National Battlefield (scene of the “Battle of the Crater”), Old Blandford Church (1734?37) and Cemetery (with 30,000
Confederate
graves), and Centre Hill Mansion Museum (1823).
Fort Lee
, with its Quartermaster Museum, is nearby. Inc. city, 1850. Pop. (2000) 33,740; (2010) 32,420.