- Petersburg
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/pee"teuhrz berrg'/, n.a city in SE Virginia: besieged by Union forces 1864-65. 41,055.
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city, seat (1839) of Menard county, central Illinois, U.S. It lies on the Sangamon River, about 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Springfield. The area was settled about 1820, and in 1836 a plat for Petersburg (named for Peter Lukins, who owned land on the site) was surveyed by Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham). In a hillside cemetery near the city is the grave of Ann Rutledge, who some historians claim was Lincoln's first love and whose headstone is inscribed with an epitaph written by the poet and novelist Edgar Lee Masters (Masters, Edgar Lee), a native son. The boyhood home of Masters, who is buried in the same cemetery, is maintained as a museum. The county courthouse has a display of Lincoln papers. Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, which depicts Petersburg as it was during Lincoln's time, is just to the south. The city's economy is primarily agricultural, with corn (maize), wheat, and soybeans being the chief crops of the surrounding area. The extensive Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area is west of the city. Inc. 1841. Pop. (1990) 2,261; (2000) 2,299.city, administratively independent of, but located in, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties, southeast Virginia, U.S. It lies along the Appomattox River (bridged), adjacent to Colonial Heights and Hopewell, 23 miles (37 km) south of Richmond.In 1645 Fort Henry was built at the falls of the Appomattox, the site of the present city. The name (earlier, Peter's Point and Peter's Town) reputedly honours Major Peter Jones, who became commander of the fort in 1675. In 1733 Colonel William Byrd II surveyed the site, but it was not until 1748 that an act of the colonial legislature established the town. During the American Revolution it was captured by British troops under General William Phillips (Phillips, William D.) and Benedict Arnold (Arnold, Benedict) (April 25, 1781). On May 20, Lord Cornwallis (Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl, Viscount Brome, Baron Cornwallis of Eye) arrived with his army to prepare for the campaign that was to end with his surrender at Yorktown (Yorktown, Siege of). In 1784 the towns of Petersburg (Petersburg Campaign), Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were combined and incorporated as Petersburg. It was the scene of the Petersburg Campaign during the American Civil War, 10 months of bitter fighting during which Union and Confederate forces suffered more than 70,000 casualties.The city's manufactures include cigarettes, textiles, chemicals, luggage, and furniture. It is the seat of Richard Bland College (1960; a branch of the College of William and Mary), and Virginia State University (1882). Historic sites include the 4.25-square-mile (11-square-km) Petersburg National Battlefield (scene of the “Battle of the Crater”), Old Blandford Church (1734–37) and Cemetery (with 30,000 Confederate graves), and Centre Hill Mansion Museum (1823). Fort Lee, with its Quartermaster Museum, is nearby. Inc. city, 1850. Pop. (1990) city, 38,386; Richmond-Petersburg MSA, 865,640; (2000) city, 33,740; Richmond-Petersburg MSA, 996,512.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
