Pamplin Historical Park Commemorates 150th Anniversary of Breakthrough Battle With Special Events, Symposium
March 27 2015 - 1:25PM
Business Wire
Civil War site offers guided tours and
living history demonstrations to mark sesquicentennial
Pamplin Historical Park will commemorate the 150th anniversary
of the “Breakthrough” battle of Petersburg with a variety of
special events, including guided tours and living history
demonstrations on April 2 and 4. The park has also organized a
sold-out five-day symposium that includes presentations by noted
Civil War historians and tours of sites associated with the 1865
Petersburg campaign, Lee’s retreat and Appomattox.
Pamplin Historical Park is located on the site of the battle
where Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces broke through Gen.
Robert E. Lee’s defensive line on April 2, 1865, ending the
nine-month Petersburg campaign. This breakthrough triggered the
evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond and the westward retreat that
would lead to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9,
1865.
“The sesquicentennial of the Breakthrough battle is a good time
to take a closer look at this decisive event,” said park founder
and owner Robert B. Pamplin Jr. “Visiting the battlefield in
person, accompanied by experts who can provide insight into the
battle and its wider context, always brings new perspectives.
History lovers and Civil War buffs won’t want to miss this
opportunity.”
Special events at the park include the following.
April 2:
- A guided tour of the Breakthrough
battlefield, led by park historians
- The dedication of a commemorative
memorial to all British citizens who served as soldiers in the
Civil War, sponsored by a group in England
- The unveiling of a monument to the
Vermont Brigade, which played a significant role in the
Breakthrough
- Living history demonstrations and other
guided tours throughout the day
April 4:
- Guided tours of the Breakthrough
battlefield and other sites associated with the fighting on April
2, 1865
- Living history demonstrations
These events are free with park admission, and no reservations
are required.
Pamplin Historical Park’s five-day (April 1-5) Petersburg
campaign symposium and tour program includes a predawn tour of the
Breakthrough battlefield and bus tours to Petersburg and
Appomattox, as well as presentations by a variety of historians.
The event is sold out.
Symposium presentations will include “The Petersburg Campaign in
Context” and “April 2, 1865: Day of Decision at Petersburg” by A.
Wilson Greene, executive director of Pamplin Historical Park;
“Lee’s Retreat: Myths and Reality” by Civil War historian William
Marvel; “Lee’s Miserables: The Final Week” by J. Tracy Power,
professor of history at Newberry College in South Carolina;
“Searching for George Meade and Ulysses S. Grant” by historian and
editor Tom Huntington; “Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and
Appomattox” by William J. Cooper, historian emeritus at Louisiana
State University; and “The Real Legacy of Appomattox” by Elizabeth
Varon of the University of Virginia.
The event will begin on Wednesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. and
conclude at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 5. Reservations are required.
Registration is $449 per person for park members and $499 for
nonmembers. For more information about the tour and symposium,
download the flyer at www.pamplinpark.org/pdfs/SpringTour15.pdf. To
join the waiting list, call toll-free 1-877-PAMPLIN (726-7546). For
more information about other Civil War sesquicentennial events at
Pamplin Historical Park, visit www.pamplinpark.org.
About Pamplin Historical Park
One of “Virginia’s Best Places to Visit,” according to the
Travel Channel, and designated as a National Historic Landmark,
Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War
Soldier is a 424-acre Civil War campus located in Dinwiddie County,
Virginia, offering a combination of high-tech museums and hands-on
experiences. The park has four world-class museums and four
antebellum homes. It is the site of the Petersburg Breakthrough
battle of April 2, 1865, and hosts America’s premier Civil War
participatory experience, Civil War Adventure Camp. For more
information, please call 804-861-2408 or visit
www.pamplinpark.org.
About Robert B. Pamplin Jr.
Robert B. Pamplin Jr. has earned eight degrees – including two
doctorates – in business, economics, accounting, education and
theology. He has been honored nationally as a businessman,
philanthropist, ordained minister, educator, historical
preservationist and author of 16 books and comic books, including
two book-of-the-month club selections. Pamplin’s business interests
include media (the Portland Tribune and 25 community newspapers),
textiles, construction and agriculture. He has been awarded many
honorary degrees and featured in national magazines, in newspapers
and on television. He has served on presidential and state
commissions, and he has been chairman of the board of trustees of
three colleges. Pamplin is widely recognized as America’s leading
historical preservationist and foremost diversified entrepreneur.
For more information, visit www.pamplin.org. For more information
about Pamplin’s preservation efforts, visit
www.pamplincollection.org.
For R.B. Pamplin CorporationWendy Lane Stevens,
503-546-7897wendy@lanepr.com