The Great Fire of Petersburg, Virginia

by Tamara J. Eastman

Overview

On July 16, 1815, a fire began in a small stable in Petersburg. After only a few hours, almost two-thirds of the city lay in ruins. Citizens stood on the banks of the Appomattox River and watched as wind blew flames from one building to the next. The tragedy claimed a dozen lives and destroyed more than five hundred homes. The fire raged until it was quelled by a downpour of rain. Stories of heroism from firefighters and landowners were left in the aftermath. Author Tamara Eastman describes the city before the fire, the horrific event and the collective efforts to rebuild a stronger city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625857132
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	01/22/2025
Series:	Disaster
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	127
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Tamara Eastman has worked in the field of history throughout her life. In addition to her writing, she has served as a tour guide for the City of Petersburg and a living historian portraying seventeenth-century characters. Her first book was The Pirate Trial of Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Ms. Eastman is also a filmmaker, presently directing Insurrection and Gallows Bait. By day she is a military historian for the department of defense and lives in Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword Henry Kidd 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 13

1 Welcome to Petersburg! 19

Communities 21

Tobacco - The Chief Product 24

Slaves 25

First Free Black Community in the United States 29

The Market Square 32

Educating the Young 32

Apprentices 36

The Business of Birthing 37

Orphans 37

A Visit to the Business District 38

Entertainment 42

Crime and Law Enforcement 43

2 The Great Fire! 51

Sunday in the City 51

The Day of Rest 52

A Great Calamity 53

3 The Impact of the Fire 57

A Prosperous City 57

Important Exports 58

A City of Culture and Prosperity 59

Devastating Losses 59

4 Rising from the Ashes 61

5 Moving Toward the Twenty-First Century 67

Petersburg's Revival 67

Interstate System 71

Electrifying Progress 72

The Siege of Petersburg 72

Higher Learning 75

The Freedmen's Bureau 76

Separate but Equal 76

A Retail Renaissance 77

From Boomtown to Ghost Town 78

Business Booming Once More 78

Appendix 81

Prominent Families 81

Slave Database in Petersburg in 1815 86

Neighboring Plantations in 1815 88

List of Businesses and Homes Destroyed in the Fire 89

Bibliography 95

Index 97

About the Author 105