Union Army Enters Richmond

This heritage site is a part of the American Battlefield Trust's Road to Freedom Tour Guide app, which showcases sites integral to the Black experience during the Civil War era. Download the FREE app now.

Here Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, commander of the Army of the James, entered and took possession of Richmond at 8:15 A.M. on 3 April 1865 after receiving the surrender of the confederate capital from Mayor Joseph Mayo a few miles east. The first units of Weitzel's command to enter the city were six regiments from Brig. Gen. Edward H. Ripley's 1st Brigade of the XXIVth Army Corps, and U.S. Colored Troops from infantry and cavalry regiments of the XXVth Army Corps. During the next twenty-four hours, the Union troops extinguished the fire that destroyed almost 40 blocks extending along the river and north to Capitol Square, restored order, and occupied Confederate office buildings.

Marker: SA-41, Virginia Department of Historic Resources (1994)