Virginia State Parks pay tribute to the battles and the men who fought on the soil of Southside Virginia

On April 6, 1865 - the Black Thursday of the Confederacy - Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia lost 7,700 men, including eight generals, in the Battle of Little Sailor’s Creek. The defeat was key to Lee’s decision to surrender at Appomattox Court House 72 hours later, thus ending the war in Virginia.

Living History units will execute a tactical demonstration portraying both Confederate and Union armies as they fought across the fields of the Hillsman’s family farm

Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historical State Park will hold their American Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemorative event on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

The Overton-Hillsman Farm House will be open to the public for guided tours. The farm house was restored to reflect the 1865 conditions the family and soldiers experience when the house served as a field hospital.  Living History units will execute a tactical demonstration portraying both Confederate and Union armies as they fought across the fields of the Hillsman’s family farm. The Visitor Center will be open and houses exhibits showcasing artifacts and research about the battles of Sailor’s Creek and the war’s impact on the citizens of Southside Virginia.

Guided walking tours will take park visitors across High Bridge and through one of High Bridge’s earthen forts

High Bridge Trail State Park will hold their American Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemorative event on Sunday, March 29, 2015.

Activities include guided walking tours through one of High Bridge’s earthen forts and to the spot where the last Union General to die in the American Civil War, General Thomas Smyth, fell from a sharp-shooters bullet. Prominent Civil War historian and author, Chris Calkins, will take visitors on a journey of the mind as he relates true stories of desperate actions made by ordinary soldiers caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

Park visitors will learn about the American Civil War in Southside Virginia

Twin Lakes State Park will host Virginia Historical Society’s panel exhibit An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia – From 1861 through 1865 starting Friday, March 20, and ending Friday, April 3, 2015. The exhibit will be at the park’s Cedar Crest Conference Center.

Bring the entire family out to these historical events at Virginia State Parks