View source for Battle of Chaffin's Farm

{{short description|Battle of the American Civil War}}
{{About|the September 1864 American Civil War battle at Laurel Hill, Virginia|the May 1864 American Civil War battle|Battle of New Market|the 1861 American Civil War battle at Laurel Mountain or Laurel Hill, West Virginia|Laurel Mountain (West Virginia)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights
| image       = Harper's Weekly - Page 676 - Chaffin's Farm.jpg
| image_size  = 300
| caption     = Union assault on Fort Harrison, September 29<br/>(after a sketch by [[William Waud]])
| partof      = the [[American Civil War]]
| date        = September 29–30, 1864
| place       = [[Henrico County, Virginia]]
| result      = Union victory
| combatant1  = {{flag|United States|1863}} ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
| combatant2  = {{flag|CSA (Confederacy)|1863|name=Confederate States (Confederacy)}}
| commander1  = [[Ulysses S. Grant]]<br/>[[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin F. Butler]]
| commander2  = [[Robert E. Lee]]<br/>[[Richard S. Ewell]]
| strength1   = 26,600{{sfn|Sommers|1981|p=21}}
| strength2   = 14,500{{sfn|Kennedy|1998|p=363}}{{efn|There were 4,500 defenders on September 29, reinforced by 10,000 on September 30.}}
| casualties1 = '''3,372''' total <br/> 391 killed <br/> 2,317 wounded <br/> 649 missing/captured{{sfn|Sommers|1981|p=499}}{{efn|Bonekemper cites 383 killed, 2,299 wounded, and 645 missing or captured.{{sfn|Bonekemper|2004|p=317}} Trudeau cites 1,040 killed or missing and 2,317 wounded. Horn, p. 167, cites 3,327 total Union casualties.{{sfn|Trudeau|1993|p=217}} Salmon estimates 4,150 Union casualties.{{sfn|Salmon|2001|p=433}}}}
| casualties2 = '''2,000''' total <br/> 250 killed <br/> 1,250 wounded <br/> 500 missing/captured{{sfn|Bonekemper|2004|p=317}}{{efn|Sommers cites 1,737 casualties, including 396 missing or captured.{{sfn|Sommers|1981|p=499}} Horn, Trudeau, and Kennedy estimate 1,700 total Confederate casualties.{{sfn|Horn|1999|p=167}}{{sfn|Trudeau|1993|p=217}}{{sfn|Kennedy|1998|p=363}} Salmon estimates about 1,750 Confederate casualties, mostly on September 30.{{sfn|Salmon|2001|p=433}}}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Richmond-Petersburg Campaign}}

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, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] engineers and slave laborers had constructed permanent defenses around [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. By 1864, they had created a system anchored south of the capital on the [[James River]] at Chaffin's Farm, a large open area at [[Chaffin's Bluff]], both named for a local landowner. This outer line was supported by an intermediate and inner system of [[fortifications]] much closer to the capital. In July and August 1864, these lines were tested by [[Union Army|Union]] [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] in offensives designed to attack simultaneously north and south of the James.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-02-26 |title=Military Operations at Chaffin's Farm |url=https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/chaffins-farm1.htm |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=[[Richmond National Battlefield Park]] |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref>

On July 27–29, the [[Army of the Potomac]]'s [[II Corps (Union Army)|II Corps]] under [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[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, Virginia|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]].{{sfn|Salmon|2001|pp=398–99}}

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".{{sfn|Sommers|1981|p=x}}{{sfn|Horn|1999|p=169}}{{sfn|Trudeau|1993|p=216}}{{efn|The first four offensives were the [[Second Battle of Petersburg|initial assaults on Petersburg]], the [[Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road]] and the [[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]].}} Grant's primary objective was to cut the railroad supply lines to the south of Petersburg, which would likely cause the fall of both Petersburg and Richmond. He planned to use a cavalry division under Brig. Gen. [[David McM. Gregg]] and four infantry divisions from the [[V Corps (Union Army)|V]] and [[IX Corps (Union Army)|IX Corps]] of the Army of the Potomac to sever the [[Southside Railroad (Virginia)|South Side Railroad]], an operation that would result in the [[Battle of Peebles' Farm]] from September 30 to October 2. Once again hoping to distract Robert E. Lee and draw Confederate troops north of the river, Grant ordered the [[Army of the James]] under Maj. Gen. [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin F. Butler]] to attack toward Richmond.{{sfn|Salmon|2001|p=399}}

Butler devised a plan that historian John Horn called his "best performance of the war."{{sfn|Horn|1999|p=159}} Rather than repeat the efforts of July and August to turn the Confederate left, Butler planned surprise attacks on the Confederate right and center. His [[XVIII Corps (Union Army)|XVIII Corps]] under Maj. Gen. [[Edward Ord|Edward O. C. Ord]], would cross the James River to Aiken's Landing by a newly constructed pontoon bridge. At the original Deep Bottom pontoon bridge, his [[X Corps (Union Army)|X Corps]] under Maj. Gen. [[David B. Birney]] would cross, followed by his cavalry under Brig. Gen. [[August V. Kautz]]. In a two-pronged attack, the right wing (Birney's X Corps, augmented by a [[United States Colored Troops]] division under Brig. Gen. [[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.{{sfnm|1a1=Kennedy |1y=1998 |1pp=362, 364 |2a1=Sommers |2y=1981 |2pp=21-22 |3a1=Trudeau |3y=1993 |3p=208 |4a1=Horn |4y=1999 |4pp=158-59 |5a1=Salmon |5y=2001 |5p=429}}

==Orders of Battle==
===Union===
{{further|Chaffin's Farm Union order of battle|l1=Union order of battle}}

===Confederate===
{{further|Chaffin's Farm Confederate order of battle|l1=Confederate order of battle}}

==Battle==
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2011}}
[[File:newmamap.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Map of the action at New Market Heights]]

===New Market Heights===
Maj. Gen. [[David B. Birney]] moved the X Corps north from the Deep Bottom bridgehead toward the Confederate works atop New Market Heights manned by [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brig. Gen.]] [[John Gregg (CSA)|John Gregg]]. A brigade of U.S. Colored Troops attacked the heights but was repulsed. In this attack, [[Christian Fleetwood]]'s actions would later earn him the [[Medal of Honor]]. Birney reinforced the assault force and stormed the heights again. [[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===
[[File:Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment.jpg|thumb|Company I of the 36th United States Colored Troops Infantry 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 [[Edward Ord]], assaulted Fort Harrison to the west of New Market Heights.  Ord's assault was led by Brig. Gen. [[George Stannard]], a veteran of [[Battle of Gettysburg|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. [[Charles A. Heckman]] veered far off to the north and was repulsed. Ord personally attempted to rally the troops to exploit their success, but he too fell with a critical wound. The loss of commanders and the presence of Confederate [[Ironclad warship|ironclads]] on the [[James River|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 W. Field|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 [[Battle of Peebles' Farm]]. After October, the two armies settled into [[trench warfare]] that continued until the end of the war. The fighting around Chaffin's Farm cost the nation nearly 5,000 [[casualties]].

===Medal of Honor recipients===
[[File:African American Medal of Honor recipient with Non Commissioned Officers of the 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, Fort Slocum, April, 1865 LCCN93505852 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|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:
[[File:James H Harris.jpg|thumb|left|[[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. ]]
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[William H. Barnes (Medal of Honor)|William H. Barnes]]
* [[Joseph H. Shea]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwq/shea.html|title=Medal of Honor Recipients}}</ref>
* [[Powhatan Beaty]]
* [[Thomas Belcher]]
* [[James H. Bronson]]
* [[George A. Buchanan]]
* [[Nathan Huntley Edgerton]]
* [[Christian Fleetwood]]
* [[James Daniel Gardner]]
* [[James H. Harris]]
* [[Thomas R. Hawkins]]
* [[Alfred B. Hilton]]
* [[Milton M. Holland]]
* [[William Stone Hubbell]]
* [[Miles James]]
* [[Franklin Johndro]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beyer|first1=Walter Frederick|title=Deeds of Valor|date=1901|publisher=Perrien-Keydel Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/deedsofvalorhow01beyerich/page/440 440]|url=https://archive.org/details/deedsofvalorhow01beyerich|quote=franklin johndro deeds of valour.|access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref>
* [[Alexander Kelly]]
* [[Nathaniel A. McKown]]
* [[Robert A. Pinn]]
* [[Edward Ratcliff (soldier)|Edward Ratcliff]]
* [[John Schiller]]
* [[Ebenezer Skellie]]
* [[Charles Veale]]
* [[William Laing (Medal of Honor)|William Laing]]
}}

Three Medal of Honor recipients from the [[6th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment]] are depicted in a painting, ''Three Medals of Honor'' by artist [[Don Troiani]]. The painting was unveiled June 24, 2013 at the [[Union League of Philadelphia]]. Portrayed in the painting are [[Nathan H. Edgerton]], [[Thomas R. Hawkins]], and [[Alexander Kelly]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sablearm.blogspot.com/2013/05/don-troianis-new-market-heights.html|title=Freedom by the Sword: Don Troiani's New Market Heights Painting to be Unveiled June 24th|first=Jimmy|last=Price|date=19 May 2013}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==Battlefield preservation==
As of late 2021, the [[American Battlefield Trust]] and its partners have acquired and preserved {{convert|87|acres|km2}} of the battlefield.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land|title=Saved Land|publisher=[[American Battlefield Trust]]|access-date= November 24, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|American Civil War}}
{{wikisource|Southern Historical Society Papers/Volume 01/June/Attack on Fort Gilmer|Attack on Fort Gilmer}}
* [[Butler Medal]], awarded to numerous participants

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bonekemper |first=Edward H. |title=A victor, not a butcher: Ulysses S. Grant's overlooked military genius |date=2004 |publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-89526-062-8 |location=Washington, D.C.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Horn |first=John |author-link=John L. Horn |title=The Petersburg Campaign: June 1864-April 1865 |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=9781580970242}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Frances H. |title=The Civil War Battlefield Guide: The Definitive Guide to the 384 Principal Battles |date=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-395-74012-5 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Salmon |first=John S. |title=The official Virginia Civil War battlefield guide |date=2001 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-2868-3  |location=Mechanicsburg}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sommers |first=Richard J. |title=Richmond redeemed: The siege at Petersburg |date=1981 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-15626-4 |location=Garden City, N.Y}}
* {{Cite book |last=Trudeau |first=Noah Andre |author-link=Noah Andre Trudeau |title=The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865 |date=1993 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |isbn=9780807118610 |location=Baton Rouge}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Claxton |first=Melvin |title=Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War |last2=Puls |first2=Mark |date=2006 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-46823-3 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=William C. |author-link=William C. Davis (historian) |title=Death in the trenches: Grant at Petersburg |date=1987 |publisher=Time-Life Books |isbn=978-0-8094-4776-3  |series=The Civil War |location=Alexandria, Virginia}}
* {{Cite book |last=Eicher |first=David J. |author-link= David J. Eicher|title=The longest night: a military history of the Civil War |date=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-84944-7 |location=New York}}
== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Chaffin's Farm}}
* [https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=va075 National Park Service battle description]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150930230614/http://www.nps.gov/abpp/CWSII/VirginiaBattlefieldProfiles/Cedar%20Creek%20to%20Chancellorsville.pdf CWSAC Report Update]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050208023615/http://www.nps.gov/rich/ri_farm.htm Richmond National Battlefield Park, Chaffin's Farm]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090805173117/http://oregonmag.com/FletcherCivilWar809.html The Remarkable Life of a Quaker Civil War Hero]
* [http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/new-market-heights.html  Battle of New Market Heights: Maps, Histories, and Preservation News (CWPT)]
* [http://www.beyondthecrater.com/resources/ors/vol-xlii/unpublished-reports-vol-xlii/upr-18640929-r-s-ewell-dor-september-29-1864/  Richard S. Ewell's Unpublished Description of the September 29, 1864 Fighting]
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{{American Civil War |expanded=CTCBS}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Petersburg Campaign|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:Union victories of the American Civil War|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Virginia|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:Henrico County, Virginia, in the American Civil War|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1864|Chaffin's Farm]]
[[Category:1864 in Virginia]]
[[Category:September 1864]]