User:Morgan Riley/Evacuation Fire

The Evacuation Fire was an urban conflagration in Richmond, Virginia the night of April 2-3, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War. When the Confederate Government evacuated from the city, fires were set by retreating Confederate forces to several warehouses to avoid their capture by Union forces. The blaze quickly spread out of control, and engulfed much of the commercial and industrial district of the city.

History
Following notice that the Confederate Army could no longer sustain the defensive lines at the Siege of Petersburg, the Confederate government. Petersburg, Virginia.

surrender, Union aide in fighting the fire.

Smouldered on ?

Lincoln tours damages

Extent and aftermath
Among the destroyed structures were the Richmond Armory, the Confederate War Department (Richmond Mechanics' Institute), Goddins Hall (a local office building), several banks, the Richmond & Danville Railroad Depot, the Tobacco Exchange, the Virginia Supreme Court building, and the Gallego Flour Mills.

Much of the burned areas were quickly rebuilt, and many of the buildings in present-day Shockoe Slip Historic District were those built to replace following the fire.