Lee's Retreat
Lee's Retreat is a State Scenic Byway in Virginia. Within Virginia it covers roughly 90 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Lee's Retreat with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Lee's Retreat traces the route Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia took fleeing west across southside Virginia after evacuating Petersburg and Richmond on April 2-3, 1865. Lee first aimed for Amelia Court House to resupply before turning south toward North Carolina, but when Union cavalry under General Philip Sheridan blocked the Richmond and Danville Railroad, he was forced instead toward Farmville, where he'd hoped to find food for his starving troops. The self-guided driving tour follows that week-long retreat through 25 stops, each with audio and visual interpretation covering the final days of the Civil War in Virginia. Modern Farmville offers an outdoor cafe along the same Appomattox River Lee's army crossed, and nearby Holliday Lake State Park adds a sandy swimming beach to the historical stops. The trail ends, as Lee's retreat did, at Appomattox Court House, where he surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant and effectively ended the war in the East.
- Appomattox Court House
- Farmville
- 25-stop driving tour
- April 1865 retreat
- Sheridan's cavalry
- Amelia Court House
- Civil War surrender route
Plan a drive on Lee's Retreat →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Lee's Retreat
No campgrounds are listed close to Lee's Retreat yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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