Only the asphalt serves as a sign of modern times. On the same day, Grant ordered a general attack along the thinly held Confederate fortifications, and the Union VI Corps broke through at the site of Pamplin Park, just off U.S. 460 at Va. 670. The line was defended by Gen. Samuel McGowan's South Carolinians, whose headquarters were in the Tudor Hall plantation. It collapsed under the weight of the federal assault. A 1.1-mile walking tour covers the area of the federal breakthrough.
Reconstructed huts show how the common soldier lived then.
An extension of the park, the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, is scheduled to open May 29. The second day of your stay in the area should be devoted to the 26-point driving tour of Lee's retreat. The route roughly follows U.S. 460 through Farmville and on to Appomattox, four miles from the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Depending on the detail sought and the time factor, visitors can crisscross U.S. 460 to lesser event sites. Perhaps the last major battle of the Civil War in Virginia occurred at Saylor's Creek.