Editor’s Note: The author of the battle summary for The Battle of New Market Heights is Jimmy Price. Jimmy has a great interest in this battle due to the participation of many United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments. For more on the USCT, check out Jimmy’s blog The Sable Arm.
Name: The Battle of New Market Heights
Other Names: Chaffin’s Farm, Chapin’s Farm, Third New Market Heights
Location: Henrico County
Campaign: Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865)
Date: September 29, 1864
Principal Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee and Brig. Gen. John Gregg [CS]
Forces Engaged: 6,700 (US 3,800; CS 2,900)
Estimated Casualties: US 1,027; CS no reliable estimate
Description: Following the Federal victories at Opequon Creek and Fisher’s Hill in late September 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant prepared an offensive to prevent Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from reinforcing his troops in the Shenandoah Valley. Grant planned a two-pronged assault with Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade’s Army of the Potomac striking at the Southside Railroad near Petersburg while Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James struck north of the James River to threaten the Confederate Capital. Butler called his subordinates together on September 28th and outlined the plan, part of which called for Maj. Gen. David B. Birney’s X Corps to attack from the Deep Bottom Bridgehead and take New Market Heights. Spearheading this attack would be Brig. Gen. Charles Paine’s Third Division of the XVIII Corps, a unit comprised entirely of United States Colored Troops. The Army of the James crossed over on the night of September 28-29, 1864 and was in position by 5:00 AM. Facing the bluecoats were 2,000 veteran troops under the overall command of Brig. Gen. John Gregg. Lt. Col. Frederick Bass’ Texas-Arkansas Brigade and dismounted cavalry under Brig. Gen. Martin Gary manned the earthworks while the Rockbridge Artillery and 3rd Richmond Howitzers provided artillery support. Paine displayed his inexperience as a commander when he designated only Col. Samuel A. Duncan’s Third Brigade (4th and 6th USCT) to take New Market Heights. Duncan’s men deployed in a skirmish line 200 yards long and soon encountered obstacles that hampered their movement. A marshy stream called Four Mile Creek ran across their line of advance and a slashing of abatis and chevaux-de-frise blocked access to the Rebel entrenchments. Duncan’s men advanced into the thick fog around 5:30 AM and, in the words of one survivor, were “all cut to pieces.” Intense musket and artillery fire shredded the ranks of the oncoming Federals and soon Col. Duncan was down with four wounds. The Third Brigade soon withdrew, losing 350 of its 700 effectives. Paine then sent in the Second Brigade (5th, 36th, and 38th USCT) under the command of Col. Alonzo Draper. As the sun began to rise, Draper’s men went in over the same ground that Duncan’s men had crossed and they were soon entangled in the slashing. For thirty brutal minutes, Draper’s men endured a barrage from the Confederate lines before the Confederates began to withdraw. When the fire slackened the USCT’s burst through the slashing and advanced up the slopes of New Market Heights. Draper would lose 447 out of his 1,300 men. Overall, Paine lost 1 out of 3 men in the attack on New Market Heights. While Benjamin Butler did not capture Richmond that day, the fighting prowess of the African American soldiers under his command was put on display for all to see. Throughout the entire course of the American Civil War, only sixteen black soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of that number, fourteen were awarded to the black troops who stormed New Market Heights.
Result: Union victory
Bibliography:
- Combat 2: Union Infantrymen Versus Confederate Infantrymen: Eastern Theater 1861-65
- Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg (2nd Edition) by Richard J. Sommers
- Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg by Richard J. Sommers
- The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword by James S. Price
First Person Accounts:
Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Battle:
- 150 Years Ago Today: Battle of Chaffin’s Farm: September 29, 1864
- Combat 2: Union Infantrymen Versus Confederate Infantrymen: Eastern Theater 1861-65
- Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg (2nd Edition) by Richard J. Sommers
- Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg by Richard J. Sommers
- The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword by James S. Price
- A Quick Note on Fort Harrison and New Market Heights
- At What Battle Did Black Civil War Soldiers Earn the Most Medals of Honor?
- Book Review: Combat 2: Union Infantrymen Versus Confederate Infantrymen: Eastern Theater 1861-65
- BTC Notes: Combat 2: Union Infantrymen Versus Confederate Infantrymen: Eastern Theater 1861-65
- CV: V12N12: The Fight at Fort Gilmer
- CV: V21N10: Fort Harrison
- CV: V25N1: Texas and Arkansas at Fort Harrison
- FRASER MAG: A Visit to General Butler and the Army of the James, Part the First
- General Butler’s Plan of Attack for September 29, 1864
- Map of the Chaffin’s Bluff Area of Henrico County, VA: September 28, 1864
- MAP: Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, Sept. 29th 1864
- MOLLUS IL V2: The Negro as a Soldier by William E. Furness
- MOLLUS MA V1: Fourteen Months’ Service with Colored Troops by Solon A. Carter
- NP: October 1, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: War Bulletin, September 27-30, 1864
- NP: October 21, 1864 The Bedford Inquirer: Co. H, 208th PA at the Siege of Petersburg, Late September 1864
- NP: October 3, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: Latest War News, September 29
- OR XLII P1 #1: Report of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding US Army, August 9-December 11, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #266: Reports of Col. Joseph C. Abbott, 7th NH, commanding 2/1/X/AotJ, Sept 28-Oct 7 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #268: Report of Colonel Alfred P. Rockwell, 6th CT, Sept 28-Oct 12, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #270: Reports of Captain Seager S. Atwell, 7th CT, Aug 17-21, Sept 28-Oct 7, Oct 13 and 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #271: Reports of Major Frederick W. Prince, 16th NYHA, Sept 28-Oct 13 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #272: Reports of Lieutenant Colonel James F. Randlett, 3rd NH, Aug 14-17, Sept 29, and Oct 1, 7, 13, and 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #274: Reports of Lieutenant Colonel Augustus W. Rollins, 7th NH, Sept 28-Oct 7, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #288: Report of Brigadier General Robert S. Foster, commanding 2/X/AotJ, Sept 28-Oct 4 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #289: Report of Lieutenant Colonel Albert M. Barney, 142nd NY, commanding 1/2/X/AotJ, Sept 28-Oct 3, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #291: Reports of Colonel Galusha Pennypacker, 97th PA, commanding 2/2/X/AotJ, Sept 28-Oct 1 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #292: Reports of Colonel Louis Bell, 4th NH, commanding 3/2/X/AotJ, Sept 28-Oct 1 and Oct 27-28, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #295: Report of Colonel James Shaw, Jr., 7th USCT, September 28-30, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #297: Report of Captain Edwin S. Babcock, 9th USCT, September 29-30, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #301: Reports of Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Ward, 29th CT, Sept 29-30 and Oct 13, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #331: Report of Captain Albert Janes, 22nd USCT, September 29-30, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #333: Report of Colonel Alonzo G. Draper, 36th USCT, commanding 2/3/XVIII/AotJ, September 29, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #350: Medals of Honor, August 1-December 31, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #358: Diary of the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia Aug 1-Oct 18, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #367: Itinerary of Hardaway Light Artillery Battalion, Aug 13-Dec 31, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #6: Itinerary of the Army of the Potomac and Army of the James, August 1-December 31, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #7: Number 7. Return of Casualties in the Union Forces, Aug. 13-20, 18-21, 25, Sep. 29-30, Oct. 7, 13, 27-28, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. Dec. 1864
- OR XLVI P1 #1: Report of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding U.S. Army, March 1864-May, 1865
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Thought Only of Saving the Flag
- Review: The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword
- The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm: September 29-30, 1864
- The Battle of New Market Heights Wikipedia Map: September 29, 1864
- The Battle of New Market Heights: September 29, 1864
- VT Proceedings: The Colored Troops in the War of the Rebellion by J. H. Goulding