Upper South

States: Virginia

Start near: Richmond (about 30 min to Petersburg)

Lee's Retreat

the last week of the war

Lee's Retreat is a ~110-mile back-roads route from Petersburg to Appomattox on US 460 and VA 24, driven in 1–2 days, that stays off I-85 through the Upper South.

Open the interactive map →

Drive

Petersburg → Appomattox

Distance

~110 miles

Time

1–2 days

Highways

US 460 · VA 24

Avoids

I-85

Region

Upper South

One week, April 1865: the Petersburg lines break, Five Forks collapses, a quarter of Lee's army is captured at Sailor's Creek, the High Bridge fails to burn, and the road runs out at Appomattox Court House. This route drives that week west, stop for stop, with one essential addition: Farmville's Moton Museum, where a 16-year-old's 1951 school strike became a pillar of Brown v. Board, the war's unfinished business continued by other means.

📍 The Lee's Retreat driving trail signs its own stops; several still broadcast low-power interpretive radio.

The drive, segment by segment

The Breakthrough

Petersburg → Amelia · ~40 mi

Pamplin's preserved break-in point and Five Forks' fatal flank, then the missed rations at Amelia.

• ⚔️Pamplin Historical Park — Petersburg

  The April 2 Breakthrough ground, earthworks intact, plus the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, the war told at private's eye level.

• ⚔️Five Forks — Dinwiddie

  Sheridan's April 1 stroke, often called the Waterloo of the Confederacy, while Pickett sat at a shad bake two miles off.

Black Thursday

Amelia → Farmville · ~35 mi

Sailor's Creek's disaster, the High Bridge's half-burned spans, and Farmville's double history.

• ⚔️Sailor's Creek — Rice

  April 6: nearly a quarter of Lee's army killed or captured in an afternoon. 'My God, has the army dissolved?' is the line tradition gives him here.

• 🌿High Bridge Trail — Farmville

  The half-mile rail bridge 125 feet over the Appomattox that the retreat failed to burn; now the centerpiece of a 31-mile state park trail.

• ✊Moton Museum — Farmville

  Barbara Johns led her high school out on strike in 1951; the case joined Brown v. Board. The school is now a National Historic Landmark museum.

Surrender Road

Farmville → Appomattox · ~35 mi

The Richmond-Lynchburg stage road to the McLean parlor and the stacking of arms.

• 🏞️Appomattox Court House — Appomattox

  The McLean parlor, the stage road where the Army of Northern Virginia stacked arms, and a village the Park Service holds at April 1865.

Tips and best time to go

• April anniversary weekends bring living history to nearly every stop; book Farmville early.
• Walk High Bridge at golden hour; the retreat never had the pleasure.

Frequently asked questions

How long is Lee's Retreat and how many days does it take?

Lee's Retreat is about 110 miles and takes 1–2 days at a back-roads pace.

Where does Lee's Retreat start and end?

It runs from Petersburg to Appomattox.

Which highways does Lee's Retreat follow?

It follows US 460 and VA 24.

Which interstate does Lee's Retreat replace?

It avoids I-85, using US 460 and VA 24 instead.

How many stops are on Lee's Retreat, and what are the highlights?

6 stops are mapped, including Pamplin Historical Park, Five Forks, Sailor's Creek, High Bridge Trail and Moton Museum.

Which ready-made itineraries include Lee's Retreat?

Cradle & Surrender: Jamestown to Appomattox (3 days).

When is the best time to drive Lee's Retreat?

The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “April anniversary weekends bring living history to nearly every stop; book Farmville early.”

Worth a detour

• Blandford Church — Petersburg's memorial church with fifteen Tiffany windows, one per Confederate state and then some; the craft outshines the cause.
• Red Hill — Patrick Henry's last home and grave south of Appomattox: 'liberty or death' ended in a small law office with a big view.