A portion of a Civil War battlefield east of Richmond where U.S. Colored Troops gained a famous victory has been purchased for preservation by the Capital Region Land Conservancy, the nonprofit announced Monday.
CRLC closed on the purchase of more than 49 acres containing a stretch of Civil War earthworks that was captured by the Union soldiers on Sept. 29, 1864, during the Battle of New Market Heights. For their valor, 14 U.S. Colored Troops were awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor.
Richmond National Battlefield Park historian Ed Sanders talks about the battle of New Market Heights with a group from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History at Deep Bottom Boat Landing in Henrico County. Union troops crossed on a pontoon bridge at Deep Bottom to attack the Confederate positions. Fourteen black soldiers won medals of honor during the assault.
The site lies east of Interstate 295 and south of Route 5 and had been owned by the family of Frederic Albert Dabney, who purchased the property in 1937. Funding for the acquisition was made possible through a $600,000 grant from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. The grant will be used to match a National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant that CRLC has applied for through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Both grants require that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources hold a conservation easement on the property to preserve the cultural landscape of the battlefield.
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In 2022, 28 acres at nearby Four Mile Creek Farm were donated to the Capital Region Land Conservancy.
Howard Eberly of Four Mile Creek Farm donated 28 acres to the CRLC last year. The Battle of New Market Heights was fought on the property.
Preservation Virginia listed New Market Heights Battlefield among Virginia’s most endangered historic places in 2021.
The National Park Service has plans for a New Market Heights unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, but has not yet secured enough land to provide meaningful public access and interpretation of the site, according to a CRLC news release. With the most recent land acquisition, more than 300 acres of the approximately 2,000 acres of core battlefield are owned by CRLC, Henrico County and the American Battlefield Trust. Private landowners own the rest.
CRLC is a nonprofit that seeks to conserve and protect natural and historic land and water resources of Virginia’s capital region for the benefit of current and future generations.
From the Archives: Richmond Fire Department
Richmond Fire Department
11-01-1973 (cutline): James Jackson polishes a mirror on one of Engine Co. No. 23's fire trucks at the new Fourth Battalion Headquarters, located at 400 LaBrook Concourse in South Richmond. The recently opened facility, second of four permanent stations planned for the area annexed from Chesterfield Couny in 1970, was built by Heindl-Evans Co. of Mechanicsville at a cost of $232,615.
Richmond Fire Department
05-21-1960: Richmond Fire Department trainees learn to use gas masks.
Firefighters
03-31-1979 (cutline): Drawings show new hair, mustache limit for Richmond firefighters.
Richmond Fire Department
07-08-1971 (cutline): City firemen "model" two types of breathing apparatus currently in use. Moses Days (left) wears filter-canister mask. It is gradually being replaced by self contained air pack worn by Pete Pearson.
Richmond Fire Department
02-12-1961 (cutline): Richmond Fire Department
Richmond Fire Department
11-02-1967 (cutline): Richmond fire house at Brook Avenue and Marshall St. The building currently housing the company was put in use in 1862 and is the oldest firehouse still occupied by the department. The sign over the entrance identifies the outfit as Steamer Company, a holdover from the days when the fire rig was a two-horse drawn pumper.
Richmond Fire Department
03-30-1954: Richmond Fire station--Third between Broad and Grace Streets.
Richmond Fire Department
12-08-1958 (cutline): No. 10 Engine House west of Lombardy on Broad Street.
Richmond Fire Department
05-11-1975 (cutline): Kenneth Butler was acting Battalion Chief of Richmond Fire Department.
Richmond Fire Department
05-08-1971: Richmond Fire Department
Richmond Fire Department
06-21-1956: Richmond Fire Department air raid drill.
Richmond Fire Department
02-23-1973 (cutline): A two truck moves in to begin untangling a Richmond Fire Bureau hook-and-ladder truck after the vehicle jacknifed and collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Ninth and Main Streets. Fire officials said the reserve hook-and-ladder unit was stopped for a traffic light on Ninth Street yesterday afternoon when the truck's driveshaft yoke broke and severed a brake line. The truck rolled down Ninth Street hill from Bank Street and collided with the pickup truck, officials said. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $300 while the fire vehicle had about $350 in damages. No injuries were reported.
Richmond Fire Department
05-11-1975 (cutline): Boots, trousers at ready for sleeping fireman.
Richmond Fire Department
03-08-1968 (cutline): The Richmond Fire Bureau's first aerial platform truck arrived at the city garage yesterday for tesing and inspection before it goes into service.
Richmond Fire Department
04-22-1955 (cutline): The once-doomed Oregon Hill firehouse bell still is very active from a nice, renovated tower too. The bell earlier this year was caught in a budgetary squeeze after city officials decided that termites had weakened the tower and it was not worth $450 to restore it. A telephone appeal among members of three churches in the area produced enough money to remodel the tower in the 200 block of South Laurel St. Now the bell is back on its 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. ringing schedule.
Richmond Fire Department
05-11-1975 (cutline): Exercise time for men of Engine Co. 10
Richmond Fire Department
06-23-1950 (cutline): Fireman C.T. Gleason puts finishing touches on safety painting.
