Rob's Historic Sites

One of the most intense moments in America’s history took place here. It was here during a 9-month long attack/siege of Petersburg, Virginia that Yankee troops secretly tunneled under the Confederate defensive position and set off 8,000lbs of explosives, instantly killing nearly 300 Confederates and leaving a huge crater still seen today. Incredibly, despite the surprise attack, initial losses, and being outnumbered, the remaining Confederates rallied to inflict over twice as many casualties on the Yankees; 3,800 Yankee vs 1,500 Confederate casualties. The Confederacy’s win at this battle further preserved and saved this city and others from invasion until a later time. The explosion and subsequent battle, now known as “Battle of the Crater” is depicted in the movie “Cold Mountain” and appears like a scene from the movie 1917 (link below). Many are surprised to discover that trench warfare largely originated during the War between the States and was just as brutal on American soil...

This week in history, the world’s first battle between ironclads occurred when the CSS Virginia battled the USS Monitor at the Battle of Hampton Roads on the southern Virginia coastline. The epic 2 day battle on March 8-9, 1862 received worldwide attention and marked a new age in naval warfare for the entire world. Great Britain and France immediately halted construction of wooden-hulled ships and others followed suit. Battlefield.org explains: In an attempt to end the blockade on their ports, “on March 8, [Confederate] Virginia steamed down the Elizabeth River into the roadstead where it sank USS Cumberland and ran USS Congress aground and set it afire. The Virginia retired, intending to sink other ships the next day. That evening, the new Union ironclad USS Monitor arrived to protect the wooden fleet. The Monitor mounted only two guns but they were placed inside a revolutionary revolving turret. The next morning, Monitor and Virginia met in the first engagement of ironclads in ...