South Side Railroad Depot

Petersburg, Virginia is south of Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy during the US Civil War (1861-1865). Petersburg served as the supply hub for Richmond, so it became a crucial target for Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign to bring the Confederacy to its knees. Robert E. Lee, Confederate commander, set extremely heavy defenses around both Richmond and Petersburg. Rather than attacking, which would have been suicidal, Grant laid siege to Petersburg, from June 1864 to April 1865, strangling both cities. When the siege was broken, Richmond fell to Union forces, and Lee and his troops retreated from Petersburg to Appomattox Courthouse, where he soon surrendered. This effectively ended the Civil War.

The South Side Railroad Depot is the one that Lee and his staff used when evacuating Petersburg to head west to Appomattox Courthouse. It also appeared in the 2012 Spielberg film Lincoln, as did many other Petersburg buildings, but they portrayed scenes in Washington, DC.

[Anne Pancella]

Interesting building. thanks for the background.

[Danette Thompson]

Nice building. Thanks for the info!

[bkb in the city]

Great shot of this piece of history

[Jon Lip]

Thanks for the historical info, quite fascinating.

[Walks @ 7]

Great PoV.

[Tim Erskine]

@annepann @danette @bkbinthecity @jon_lip @joysabin Thanks for the comments! I like to provide context and background for my pictures. Otherwise, shots like this are just some old building in need of some sprucing up (or tearing down, if you're not that into old architecture).