Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia preserves the sites associated with the Siege of Petersburg, a nine-month campaign from June 1864 to April 1865 that ultimately led to the end of the Civil War. General Ulysses S. Grant's strategy to cut the vital railroad supply lines feeding the Confederate capital at Richmond resulted in one of the war's longest sustained operations, with miles of trenches foreshadowing the trench warfare of World War I. The siege included the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864, in which Union forces detonated a mine beneath Confederate lines — an assault that ended in a disastrous Union defeat and particularly heavy casualties among United States Colored Troops. The fall of Petersburg on April 2, 1865, led directly to the evacuation of Richmond and Lee's surrender at Appomattox a week later.
📚 Learn More at NPSHistory.com →Petersburg National Battlefield in VA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Petersburg National Battlefield is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
Petersburg National Battlefield in VA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: Petersburg National Battlefield is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
The review of exhibits found nothing to report.
The story of Petersburg National Battlefield is inseparable from the lives of the people who were enslaved here. For generations, their stories went untold. The interpretive materials now targeted for replacement or removal were created to ensure these voices would finally be heard.
From the internal review records: “The waysides, movie, brochure and push button audio program includes some descriptions and historical quotes that might make people feel uncomfortable. They are on topics of American Indians, Slavery, and fighting during the Civil War. The park would like to revise the American Indians wayside with tribal input. We were not planning to re-print the brochure and can dispose of the remaining. The br...”
The administration has directed that this content be replaced or removed — 2 items in total, not merely revised but eliminated from the visitor experience at Petersburg National Battlefield.
Why this matters: The history of slavery at Petersburg National Battlefield was suppressed for generations. The materials now being targeted represent decades of work by historians, descendants of enslaved people, and community advocates to ensure these stories are finally told. Removing them would re-erase history that has only recently been acknowledged.
The waysides, movie, brochure and push button audio program includes some descriptions and historical quotes that might make people feel uncomfortable. They are on topics of American Indians, Slavery, and fighting during the Civil War. The park would like to revise the American Indians wayside with tribal input. We were not planning to re-print the brochure and can dispose of the remaining. The brochure works better as a webpage, and we could just revise it for digital content. They others are well researched, but if it is deemed as necessary to edit them, we need to know why and need clear guidance on what is and is not allowed. We could revise and re-print the waysides and edit the movie. We would have to disconnect the push button audio program, because it is from the 1990s and we do not have a way to record over it, but we could replace it with an audio stop on an existing tour on the NPS App.
See attached pdf for and text images.
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