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The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm: September 29-30, 1864

Name: The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm (and New Market Heights)

Other Names: Combats at New Market Heights, Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer; Laurel Hill

Location: Henrico County

Campaign: Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865)

Date: September 29-30, 1864

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell [CS]

Forces Engaged: Armies

Estimated Casualties: 4,430 total

Description: During the night of September 28-29, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James crossed James River to assault the Richmond defenses north of the river. The columns attacked at dawn. After initial Union successes at New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, the Confederates rallied and contained the breakthrough. Lee reinforced his lines north of the James and, on September 30, he counterattacked unsuccessfully. The Federals entrenched, and the Confederates erected a new line of works cutting off the captured forts. Union general Burnham was killed. As Grant anticipated, Lee shifted troops to meet the threat against Richmond, weakening his lines at Petersburg.

Result: Union victory1

Summary:

Chaffin’s Farm: Combat at New Market Heights and Forts Harrison and Gilmer: September 29, 1864

Note: Click to see maps of the Battle of New Market Heights and maps of the Battle of Fort Harrison, which together make up the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm.

Brief Summary: The first day of the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm was contested 150 years ago today, on September 29, 1864.  It actually consisted of several related but separate actions along the New Market Heights line and the Confederate fortifications near Chaffin’s Bluff.  These efforts were the right wing of Grant’s two-pronged Fifth Offensive against Richmong and Petersburg in late September 1864.  The Battle of Peebles Farm would begin the next day on the left, with the Army of the Potomac battling A. P. Hill’s Third Corps near the farms of Peebles and Pegram near the Boydton Plank Road.  While the Peebles Farm fighting would flare until October 2, most of the action on the Richmond front occurred on September 29.

The Battle of New Market Heights saw the USCT regiments of the 3rd Division, Eighteenth Corps, Army of the James take on the famed Texas Brigade of John Gregg.  After several assaults, the Texans retreated to the main line near Forts Gilmer and Harrison.  Whether they were driven from that line by the USCTs, retreated of their own volition after hearing of the assault on Fort Harrison, or a little of both, remains a controversy.

Battle of New Market Heights

by Jimmy Price

Editor’s Note: Jimmy Price, author of The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword, was kind enough to write up this summary of the Battle of New Market Heights for the Siege of Petersburg Online.  I reuse it here because it’s an excellent introduction to that portion of the Battle of Chaffin’s Bluff.

NewmamapWikipedia

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.

Battle of Fort Harrison and Fort Gilmer

By Brett Schulte

The Battle of Fort Harrison (and Fort Gilmer) was fought to the west near Chaffin’s Bluff.  Confederate defenders in the vicinity of Fort Harrison were scarce, and George Stannard’s First Division, Eighteenth Corps, Army of the James successfully took the formidable work on September 29.  More fighting would follow the next day when the Confederates attempted to retake it.

Battle of Chaffin's Farm, Sept. 29th 1864

While the Tenth Corps and Paine’s 3rd Division, Eighteenth Corps formed the right flank of Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James and faced off against New Market Heights, the remaining two White divisions of the Eighteenth Corps under Stannard and Heckman were detailed to attack Fort Harrison near Chaffin’s Bluff.  Stannard’s Division attacked in column of divisions, each brigade forming a column.  Perhaps, had the Confederate trenches been fully manned, Stannard’s force could have faced a bloody repulse.  As it was, Fort Harrison was thinly defended by artillerymen and Johnson’s Tennesee Brigade from the Department of Richmond, and Stannard’s decision to quickly attack won the day for the Federals.

When Fort Harrison fell, the New Market Heights line to the east became untenable.  The troops under John Gregg, including Martin Gary’s cavalry, the Texas Brigade, and Benning’s Georgia Brigade, made their way west to the entrenchment s north of Fort Harrison.  They would play a role in defending Fort Gilmer shortly.

Meanwhile, Paine’s USCT Division and the Tenth Corps moved up the New Market Road in the direction of Fort Gilmer.  Gregg’s men had managed to retreat in time and held the lines in and around Gilmer.  The Federal attacks by Foster’s Division, Tenth Corps were delivered piecemeal in brigade sized increments, diluting their effectiveness.  William Birney’s Colored Brigade also attacked Fort Gilmer and was also repulsed.  This latter attack, the first time some of the Confederates had encountered Black troops, resulted in a lot of recollections in the Confederate Veteran in later years.  The unfortunate “Corporal Dick”, whose bravery earned him only a shot between the eyes, was mentioned often in these Confederate accounts.

Despite the Federal reverses north of Fort Harrison, they had done damage to the integrity of the Confederate lines near Chaffin’s Bluff.  Robert E. Lee considered Fort Harrison important enough that he personally supervised a counterattack the next day, on September 30, 1864.  But that is a story for tomorrow.

The Battle of Fort Harrison: September 30, 1864:

Lee’s Counterattack is Easily Repulsed

Note: Click to see maps of the Battle of New Market Heights and maps of the Battle of Fort Harrison, which together make up the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm.

Brief Summary: Robert E. Lee personally commanded a counterattack against Fort Harrison on September 30, 1864, 150 years ago today.  Fort Harrison had fallen the day before to George Stannard’s First Division, Eighteenth Corps, Army of the James.  The fort was located near Chaffin’s Bluff and was a key work on the Confederate exterior line.

Lee felt he had to do something of an offensive nature on September 30, 1864, but he had other choices.  He could have tried to assault the Union left flank which was tenuously tied to the James River, but he risked his attacking force being cut off by the Union center.  Likewise, he could have attacked the Union right on the Darbytown road, but August Kautz had his cavalry division well out front to provide advance warning of such an attack.  Ultimately, Lee decided on a frontal assault on Fort Harrison itself.

The divisions of Hoke and Field were tabbed for the assault.  Given the history of these two generals, Hoke blaming Field for a bloody repulse at Hare’s Hill on June 24, 1864, one wonders how Lee felt about them working together again.  In any case, he really didn’t have much of a choice.  The other infantry in the area were inexperienced reserves and other troops from the Department of Richmond.  A portion of Wilcox’s Division, the famed “Light Division” of A. P. Hill, had turned around to help repulse the Army of the Potomac’s advance at the Battle of Peebles Farm southwest of Petersburg.

Lee waited until late morning to begin the contest, and even then it was simply artillery coming from the big naval guns of the James River Squadron and the Confederate land artillery in the vicinity of Fort Harrison.  The bombardment did little good, but it did provide cover while the Confederate infantry to move into place for the attack.  It would be up to them to try to carry the fort.

FortHarrisonSept30RichRedeemedPage139

Map of the September 30 Fighting at Fort Harrison from Richmond Redeemed, 2nd Edition, page 139

Used with Permission and May Not Be Reproduced without Savas Beatie’s Express Written Consent.

Pre-order your copy of Richmond Redeemed today at Savas Beatie or Amazon.com!

Lee’s attack plan was complicated, with Field on the left and Hoke on the right charging separately, starting at different times, and hoping to come together at the point of attack simultaneously.  It didn’t happen that way.  Tige Anderson’s Georgians were supposed to kick things off and advance part way to Harrison before lying down to wait for the rest of Field’s attack force.  When they were all ready, Field and Hoke would attack together.  Instead, Anderson’s men didn’t stop, charging at the fort.  Field tried to make the best of a bad situation and advanced all three brigades of his attack force.  Hoke, perhaps remembering Field’s failure to support him on June 24 at Hare’s Hill, now refused to advance until his orders indicated, despite the clearly changed situation.

Stannard’s First Division, Eighteenth Corps, along with the USCT regiments of the Third Division, Eighteenth Corps and William Birney’s Colored Brigade of the Tenth Corps had more than enough firepower to combat the disjointed Confederate attacks.  Some of Stannard’s Union regiments in Fort Harrison had Spencer repeaters, adding to the firepower there.

Stannard, with some assistance from the USCTs, dealt first Anderson’s Georgians and then Bratton’s South Carolinians from Field’s Division, which delivered two separate attacks.  These both were bloodily repulsed.  Bowles Alabama Brigade (formerly Law’s brigade) never even attacked.

Hoke, adhering to his orders, launched his attack at 2 pm, after Field’s Division had been wrecked.  The Federals were thus able to focus all of their firepower on Hoke when he advanced.  To make matters worse, Hoke only sent in two of his five brigades, McKethan’s North Carolinians (Clingmans Brigade) and Colquitt’s Georgians.  McKethan’s men attacked first and were trapped under the guns of Fort Harrison, unable to escape.  Colquitt’s attack didn’t even make it that far.  In only an hour of disjointed assaults, the Confederates conceded defeat.  Further attacks were called off.

Lee focused on distracting the Federals for the rest of the afternoon in the hopes of rescuing McKethan’s men, but he was unsuccessful.  Near sundown, the sharpshooter battalion of Stannard’s Division rushed the remnants of the Confederate brigade and captured hundreds.  McKethan had less than 400 men left at the end of the day, losing over 50 percent in this fight.  Overall, the day was a decisive Union victory.  Fort Harrison had held, and at the cost of only 250 or so casualties.  Disjointed Confederate counterattacks, on the other hand, led to over 1200 Southern casualties, a ratio the South simply could not afford.

There would be further skirmishing over the next few days, but the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm was essentially over.  Fort Harrison became a key work in the new Union lines, and the Federals now had a much larger bridgehead to work with in future forays against Richmond.  In fact, several more battles would occur along this new line as the opposing forces extended their lines northward, resulting in the First and Second Darbytown Road battles in early to mid October 1864.  Look for posts on those in the coming weeks.

Bibliography:

First Person Accounts:

        Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Battle:

        Source:

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        { 3 comments… add one }
        • Burgess Foster, BA, MS January 31, 2012, 12:37 pm

          I think some one said that only 16 African Americans earned a Medal of Honor-I think it was actually 22 … 14 may have been received at NMH, but four were earned at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

          ∞
        • Gary R Chaffin December 14, 2021, 10:05 pm

          Ho owned Chaffin’s Farm in 1864

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        • Brett Schulte December 16, 2021, 4:07 pm

          Gary,

          Thanks for the comment! I’ve spent a couple of days seeing if I could track down this information, but I haven’t been successful. The closest I came was a reference to Chaffin’s Bluff being “named after a local,” with no further info. You might try contacting Petersburg National Battlefield directly. They might have more info for you.

          Brett Schulte

          ∞

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