I visited New Market Heights about a month ago or so. Amazing place, if only because there really isn't anything there. A sign was finally put up a few years ago but only after a significant amount of push back from the locals who refuse to accept this battle actually took place where historians and researchers say it was. It's a long story, but they've been fighting against efforts to preserve the site of the battle, a reasonable portion of which is actually still mostly undeveloped.
The story of the battle is absolutely fascinating and a stunning testament to the heroic sacrifice of USCT during the Civil War. More Medals of Honor were awarded to African American troops at this battle than any other engagement in history. A total of 16 Medals of Honor were bestowed, 14 to black soldiers. There wasn't a lot of tactical nuance to the assault, the first wave went in and was too concentrated to make an impact allowing the defenders to severely punish the unit. They had to move through lines of obstacles and felled trees in addition to swampy ground and the attack was stymied. The second wave spread out on a wider frontage and managed to take the defensive works, but not until they too were severely bloodied in the process.
From an interview with the author of the book mentioned below:
CWT: The Confederate's New Market Line sounded like a formidable defensive challenge. What sort of obstacles did the USCT forces face when attacking these entrenchments?
JP: Yes, the New Market Line was not a happy place to be on the morning of September 29, 1864. The Confederates had begun work on it in 1862 to protect the New Market Road, which ran straight into Richmond. It had defied two previous attempts to take it during the First and Second Battles of Deep Bottom, not so much because of its depth, but because the Confederates took advantage of the terrain to create a lethal killing ground. The heights were protected by artillery which could sweep the entire field and the rifle pits were manned mostly by veteran troops, including the famous Texas Brigade formerly commanded by John Bell Hood. To make matters worse for the attacking USCTs, the Rebels had strewn the approach to the works with obstacles that would not only block their approach, but also slow them down so that their ranks would be decimated from musket and artillery fire. These obstacles were the precursors to the barbed wire that would wreak such havoc on the battlefields of the First World War. The first obstacle encountered was called slashing, and it was described by one eyewitness as a process by which "the trees are felled outwards, at right angles to the work, narrow belts only being left in the hollows of a stream to cover the retreat of pickets or skirmishers." If the USCTs made it through the slashing they would then face a second series of obstacles known as chevaux-de-frise, which were structures made by sharpening the ends of trees and connecting them together through large logs. If anyone made it through these two lines of obstacles, they would then have to climb up the parapet and deal with the Confederates behind the wall. Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.
I've been a student of the Civil War for many years and I am studying or have studied many, many battles but something about this one in particular really resonates with me. It's a fascinating engagement and the story of the USCT that took part in it is one of the most moving and memorable from the entire war. It's a shame that it is little known today and that efforts to preserve the battlefield have met with such strong local resistance.
The 150th anniversary is coming up this fall, and there is also a great book on the battle that you can read if you are interested in more details.
link to book on Amazon
prepares to do some regimental-level ACW gaming.
