(7-2006) Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
During the fighting on September 29, 1864, Fort Gilmer played a prominent role in the repulse of the Federal drive north toward Richmond. African-American soldiers from the 9th United States Colored Troops participated in the attack, but were annihilated by the Virginians and Georgians defending the fort. This fort was named after Jeremy G. Gilmer, one of the leading engineers in the Confederacy
 
Photo by Webmaster

(7-2006) Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
Interpretive Marker: Black Troops Attack at Chaffin's Farm
 
Photo by Webmaster

(7-2006) Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
This photo was taken in July 2006 at Confederate Fort Gilmer. The earthworks can be seen behind the National Park Service's interpretive marker which tells of the unsuccessful Union assault made by US Colored Troops
 
Photo by William Bozic

(7-2006) Enlarge Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
Fort Gilmer is just off VA HWY 5 near the intersection with the aptly named Battlefield Park Road to the East of Richmond Virginia. Although this photo was taken in July of 2006, about 140 years after the fighting, the height of the much reduced entrenchments was still quite impressive. Credit in the NPS brochure is given to Col T.M.R. Talcott of the 1st Confederate Engineers and two companies of the 2nd Confederate Engineers for labor in this area in Sept 1864
 
Photo by William Bozic

(7-2006) Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
Along the Battlefield Park Road there are a number of private homes. This photo taken in July of 2006 shows the edge of Confederate Fort Gilmer looking toward where the Union troops made their ill-fated assault. I purposely took the photo at this angle to avoid looking directly into the house and backyard of a private home built on the hallowed ground where numerous Union troops paid the last full measure of devotion to their cause. Sadly on the drive it was impossible to miss houses and yards. Out of respect for people's privacy I was unable to get photos of countless battle locations. With the exception of the NPS's Fort Harrison Unit, the drive from Battery Alexander to Fort Brady was the same story
 
Photo by William Bozic

(2011) Enlarge Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Gilmer)
 
Photo by Willi Schumacher

(7-2006) Richmond National Battlefield Park (Fort Harrison)
 
Fort Harrison Visitor Center
 
Fort Harrison was key to General Butler's plan of attack. It represented the strongest point on the Confederate line of defenses. From it, one could see all the way to the James River. However, in 1864 most of the Confederate forces were in Petersburg and here the Confederate defenders numbered barely 200. Their guns were mostly so poor as to be scorned by the main field artillery. The Union attack pierced the fort quickly, with relatively few casualties. Had the Union attacks on the rest of the Confederate line succeeded as well as at New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, the overall military significance would have been greater
 
On September 30, Robert E. Lee personally organized a major effort to recapture the lost fort. His attack also lacked coordination, and the well prepared Union defenders-some of them armed with multiple-shot weapons-crushed the Confederate effort and inflicted great loss on the attackers. The victors abolished the Confederate title for the fort and renamed it Fort Burnham after the Union general killed in the attack of September 29. NPS Fort Harrison Tour Guide
 
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