Harrison Creek stop on the Eastern Front Driving Tour at Petersburg National Battlefield

EASTERN FRONT DRIVING TOUR

STOP 4:  HARRISON CREEK

Allow 5 minutes for a visit

The fourth stop on the Eastern Front Driving Tour at Petersburg National Battlefield is at Harrison Creek. After being overrun by Union troops along the Dimmock Line when fighting first broke out on June 15, 1864, Confederate soldiers fell back to the west side of Harrison Creek, using the water-filled gully as a natural defensive barrier. Because the Union army paused its attack once taking control of the batteries and other fortifications on the eastern side of Petersburg, the Confederates where able to dig new trenches along the creek, allowing them to hold out at this position for two more days of fighting before falling back closer to Petersburg.

Map of the Harrison Creek fortifications, Petersburg National Battlefield

Harrison Creek also played an important part in the Confederate breakout attempt at Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865. The Confederates got as far as the creek before being stopped by a division of Pennsylvania troops under the command of General John Hartranft.

There is nothing at Stop 4 other than the creek itself and a wayside exhibit that explains the events that took place here in June 1864 and March 1865. If there are any remnants of the Confederate earthworks remaining, you can’t see them from here.

Harrison Creek at Petersburg National Battlefield

For those wanting to take a hike, there is a trailhead for the Harrison Creek Trail at this tour stop. This trail is open to hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. See the Eastern Front Trails web page here on National Park Planner for details on all the trails in this unit of Petersburg National Battlefield.

Hiking trail at the Harrison Creek stop on the Eastern Front Driving Tour at Petersburg National Battlefield

Stop 5: Fort Stedman | Stop 3: Confederate Battery 9 | Eastern Front Tour Home Page

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