Battle of Chaffin's Farm

Coordinates: 37°25′36″N 77°22′22″W / 37.4268°N 77.3729°W / 37.4268; -77.3729
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the September 1864 American Civil War battle at Laurel Hill, Virginia. For the May 1864 American Civil War battle, see Battle of New Market. For the 1861 American Civil War battle at Laurel Mountain or Laurel Hill, West Virginia, see Laurel Mountain (West Virginia).
Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights
Part of the American Civil War

Union assault on Fort Harrison, September 29
(after a sketch by William Waud)
DateSeptember 29–30, 1864
Location
Henrico County, Virginia
Result
Union
victory
Belligerents
 United States (Union)  Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin F. Butler
 Robert E. Lee
Richard S. Ewell
Strength
26,600[1] 14,500[2]
Casualties and losses
3,372 total
391 killed
2,317 wounded
649 missing/captured[3]		 2,000 total
250 killed
1,250 wounded
500 missing/captured[4]

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought in Virginia on September 29–30, 1864, as part of the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.

Background

From the very beginning of the war,

fortifications much closer to the capital. In July and August 1864, these lines were tested by Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in offensives designed to attack simultaneously north and south of the James.[5]

On July 27–29, the

Winfield S. Hancock and cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan attacked New Market Heights and Fussell's Mill in the First Battle of Deep Bottom (named for the section of the James River used for the Union crossing). The attacks failed to break through to threaten Richmond or its railroads, but they did cause Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to transfer men from the Petersburg fortifications in preparation for the Battle of the Crater on July 31. The Second Battle of Deep Bottom was conducted by Hancock on August 14–20, attacking in almost the same areas once again to draw Confederate troops away from south of the James, where the Battle of Globe Tavern (also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad) was an attempt to cut the railroad supply lines to Petersburg. The second battle was also a Confederate victory, but it forced Lee to weaken his Petersburg defenses and abandon plans to reinforce his men in the Shenandoah Valley.[6]

In late September, Grant planned another dual offensive. Historians sometimes enumerate Grant's offensives during the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. Richard J. Sommers, John Horn, and Noah Andre Trudeau call these operations "Grant's Fifth Offensive".

Benjamin F. Butler to attack toward Richmond.[8]

Butler devised a plan that historian John Horn called his "best performance of the war."

Charles J. Paine from the XVIII Corps) would assault the Confederate lines at New Market Road and drive on to capture the artillery positions behind it on New Market Heights. This action would protect the flank of the left wing (the remainder of Ord's XVIII Corps), which would attack Fort Harrison from the south-east, neutralizing the strongest point of the entire Confederate line. Then, the right wing would assist the left by attacking Fort Gregg and Fort Gilmer, both north of Fort Harrison. Kautz's cavalry would exploit Birney's capture of the New Market Road by driving for Richmond.[10]

Orders of Battle

Union

Further information:
Union order of battle

Confederate

Further information:
Confederate order of battle

Battle

Map of the action at New Market Heights

New Market Heights

Maj. Gen.

Alfred H. Terry
's division managed to turn the Confederate left flank, thus turning the tide of the battle. Word of Union success against Fort Harrison then reached Gregg, compelling him to pull Confederate troops back to Forts Gregg, Gilmer and Johnson. Confederate defenders at New Market Heights were Lee's "Grenadier Guards", the First, Fourth and Fifth Texas and the Third Arkansas, numbering about 1,800 men. They inflicted 850 casualties on the attacking 13,000 Union troops while suffering only 50 casualties.

Once Birney's troops had taken New Market Heights, the X Corps turned to the north-west along the New Market Road and moved against a secondary line of works guarding Richmond north of Fort Harrison. Brig. Gen. Robert Sanford Foster's X Corps division assaulted a small salient known as Fort Gilmer. David Birney's brother, Brig. Gen. William Birney, led a brigade of U.S. Colored Troops against Fort Gregg south of Fort Gilmer. These attacks were marked by heroism among the Colored Troops but were ultimately repulsed.

Fort Harrison

Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment, which served in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.

At about the same time Birney's first attack moved forward, the Union XVIII Corps under Major General

George Stannard, a veteran of Gettysburg. Stannard's men rushed across an open field and took cover in a slight depression just in front of the fort and, after a moment's rest, took the fort. The Confederate defenders broke to the rear, seeking refuge behind a secondary line. Brig. Gen. Hiram Burnham
was killed during the attack, and the Union troops renamed the captured fort in his honor.

Once inside the fort, the Union attackers became disorganized. All three of Stannard's brigade commanders were wounded or killed. A supporting column under Brig. Gen.

James
put an end to the XVIII Corps' drive on Chaffin's Bluff along the James River.

Robert E. Lee realized the severity of the loss of Fort Harrison and personally brought 10,000 reinforcements under Maj. Gen. Charles Field north from Petersburg. On September 30, Lee ordered a counter-attack to retake Fort Harrison, now commanded by Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, replacing the wounded Ord. The Confederate attacks were uncoordinated and were easily repulsed.

Aftermath

Just as Grant had anticipated, the fighting around Chaffin's Farm forced Lee to shift his resources and helped the Union army south of Petersburg win the

casualties
.

Medal of Honor recipients

Standing At left Sgt Major Christian Fleetwood wearing both the Medal of Honor and the Butler Medal with Non Commissioned Officers of the 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, Fort Slocum, April, 1865

The following men received the Medal of Honor for action in the battle:

James H. Harris, of the 38th Colored Infantry Unit, who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.

Three Medal of Honor recipients from the

Nathan H. Edgerton, Thomas R. Hawkins, and Alexander Kelly.[13]

Battlefield preservation

As of late 2021, the American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 87 acres (0.35 km2) of the battlefield.[14]

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

References

Notes

  1. ^ Sommers, p. 21.
  2. ^ Kennedy, p. 363. There were 4,500 defenders on September 29, reinforced by 10,000 on September 30.
  3. ^ Sommers, p. 499. Bonekemper, p. 317, cites 383 killed, 2,299 wounded, and 645 missing or captured. Trudeau, p. 217, cites 1,040 killed or missing and 2,317 wounded. Horn, p. 167, cites 3,327 total Union casualties. Salmon, p. 433, estimates 4,150 Union casualties.
  4. ^ Bonekemper, p. 317. Sommers, p. 499, cites 1,737 casualties, including 396 missing or captured. Horn, p. 167, Trudeau, p. 217, and Kennedy, p. 363, estimate 1,700 total Confederate casualties. Salmon, 433, estimates about 1,750 Confederate casualties, mostly on September 30.
  5. ^ Richmond National Battlefield description of Chaffin's Farm.
  6. ^ Salmon, pp. 398–99.
  7. Wilson-Kautz Raid, the First Battle of Deep Bottom and the Battle of the Crater, and the Second Battle of Deep Bottom and the Battle of Globe Tavern
    .
  8. ^ Salmon, p. 399.
  9. ^ Horn, p. 159.
  10. ^ Sommers, pp. 21–22; Kennedy, pp. 362, 364; Salmon, p. 429; Trudeau, p. 208; Horn, pp. 158–59.
  11. ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients".
  12. ^ Beyer, Walter Frederick (1901). Deeds of Valor. Perrien-Keydel Company. p. 440. Retrieved 1 September 2015. franklin johndro deeds of valour.
  13. ^ Price, Jimmy (19 May 2013). "Freedom by the Sword: Don Troiani's New Market Heights Painting to be Unveiled June 24th".
  14. ^ "Saved Land". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

External links

37°25′36″N 77°22′22″W / 37.4268°N 77.3729°W / 37.4268; -77.3729

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