British troops under Generals Benedict Arnold and William Phillips occupied the town in 1781; on May 24 that same year Cornwallis started the journey to his surrender at Yorktown. Between the Revolutionary War and Civil War, the town was a popular stopping place with a social life that, for a time, eclipsed that of Richmond.

Physically untouched during the early years of the Civil War (though the town sent 17 companies to the front), Petersburg, in 1864, was the scene of Lee's final struggle against Grant. In April 1865, when Lee's supply routes were finally cut and he was forced to evacuate the city, the Confederacy collapsed. A week later Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

The shattered city made a new start after the war, showing amazing recuperative powers; in 1870, Petersburg had 20 more industries than there had been in 1850. Today, besides being a storehouse of colonial and Civil War history, Petersburg is a thriving industrial city.