Battle of Chaffin ' s Farm The Battle of Chaffin ' s Farm and New Market Heights , also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison , Johnson , and Gilmer , was fought on September 29 – 30 , 1864 , as part of the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War . Background . From the very beginning of the war , Confederate engineers and slave laborers constructed permanent defenses around Richmond . By 1864 , they had created a system anchored south of the capital on the James River at Chaffin ' s Farm , a large open area at Chaffin ' s Bluff , both named for a local landowner . This outer line was supported by an intermediate and inner system of fortifications much closer to the capital . In July and August 1864 , these lines were tested by Union Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant in offensives designed to attack simultaneously north and south of the James . On July 27 – 29 , the Army of the Potomac ' s II Corps under Maj . Gen . Winfield S . Hancock and cavalry under Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan attacked New Market Heights and Fussell ' s Mill in the First Battle of Deep Bottom ( named for the section of the James River used for the Union crossing ) . The attacks did not break through to directly threaten Richmond or its railroads , but they did cause Confederate Gen . Robert E . Lee to transfer men from the Petersburg fortifications in preparation for the Battle of the Crater on July 31 . The Second Battle of Deep Bottom was conducted by Hancock on August 14 – 20 , attacking in roughly the same areas with the goal of once again drawing Confederate troops away from south of the James , where the Battle of Globe Tavern ( also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad ) was attempting to cut the railroad supply lines to Petersburg . The second battle was also a Confederate victory , although Lee was forced to deplete his Petersburg defenses and abandon plans to reinforce his men in the Shenandoah Valley . In late September , Grant planned another dual offensive . Historians sometimes enumerate Grant ' s offensives during the Richmond – Petersburg Campaign . Richard J . Sommers , John Horn , and Noah Andre Trudeau call these operations " Grant ' s Fifth Offensive " . Grant ' s primary objective was to cut the railroad supply lines to the south of Petersburg , which would likely cause the fall of both Petersburg and Richmond . He planned to use a cavalry division under Brig . Gen . David McM . Gregg and four infantry divisions from the V and IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac to sever the South Side Railroad , an operation that would result in the Battle of Peebles ' Farm from September 30 to October 2 . Once again hoping to distract Robert E . Lee and draw Confederate troops north of the river , Grant ordered the Army of the James under Maj . Gen . Benjamin F . Butler to attack toward Richmond . Butler devised a plan that historian John Horn called his " best performance of the war . " Rather than repeat the efforts of July and August to turn the Confederate left , Butler planned surprise attacks on the Confederate right and center . His XVIII Corps under Maj . Gen . Edward O . C . Ord , would cross the James River to Aiken ' s Landing by a newly constructed pontoon bridge . At the original Deep Bottom pontoon bridge , his X Corps under Maj . Gen . David B . Birney would cross , followed by his cavalry under Brig . Gen . August V . Kautz . In a two - pronged attack , the right wing ( Birney ' s X Corps , augmented by a United States Colored Troops division under Brig . Gen . Charles J . Paine from the XVIII Corps ) would assault the Confederate lines at New Market Road and drive on to capture the artillery positions behind it on New Market Heights . This action would protect the flank of the left wing ( the remainder of Ord ' s XVIII Corps ) , which would attack Fort Harrison from the south - east , neutralizing the strongest point of the entire Confederate line . Then , the right wing would assist the left by attacking Fort Gregg and Fort Gilmer , both north of Fort Harrison . Kautz ' s cavalry would exploit Birney ' s capture of the New Market Road by driving for Richmond . Battle . New Market Heights . Maj . Gen . David B . Birney moved the X Corps north from the Deep Bottom bridgehead toward the Confederate works atop New Market Heights manned by Brig . Gen . John Gregg . A brigade of U . S . Colored Troops attacked the heights but was repulsed . In this attack , Christian Fleetwood ' s actions would later earn him the Medal of Honor . Birney reinforced the assault force and stormed the heights again . Alfred H . Terry ' s division managed to turn the Confederate left flank , thus turning the tide of the battle . Word of Union success against Fort Harrison then reached Gregg , compelling him to pull Confederate troops back to Forts Gregg , Gilmer and Johnson . Confederate defenders at New Market Heights were Lee ' s " Grenadier Guards " , the First , Fourth and Fifth Texas and the Third Arkansas , numbering about 1 , 800 men . They inflicted 850 casualties on the attacking 13 , 000 Union troops while suffering only 50 casualties . Once Birney ' s troops had taken New Market Heights , the X Corps turned to the north - west along the New Market Road and moved against a secondary line of works guarding Richmond north of Fort Harrison . Brig . Gen . Robert Sanford Foster ' s X Corps division assaulted a small salient known as Fort Gilmer . David Birney ' s brother , Brig . Gen . William Birney , led a brigade of U . S . Colored Troops against Fort Gregg south of Fort Gilmer . These attacks were marked by heroism among the Colored Troops but were ultimately repulsed . Fort Harrison . At roughly the same time Birney ' s first attack moved forward , the Union XVIII Corps under Major General Edward Ord , assaulted Fort Harrison to the west of New Market Heights . Ord ' s assault was led by Brig . Gen . George Stannard , a veteran of Gettysburg . Stannard ' s men rushed across an open field and took cover in a slight depression just in front of the fort and , after a moment ' s rest , took the fort . The Confederate defenders broke to the rear , seeking refuge behind a secondary line . Brig . Gen . Hiram Burnham was killed during the attack ; Union troops renamed the captured fort in his honor . Once inside the fort , the Union attackers became disorganized . All three of Stannard ' s brigade commanders were wounded or killed . A supporting column under Brig . Gen . Charles A . Heckman veered far off to the north and was repulsed . Ord personally attempted to rally the troops to exploit their success , but he too fell with a critical wound . The loss of commanders and the presence of Confederate ironclads on the James put an end to the XVIII Corps ' drive on Chaffin ' s Bluff along the James River . Robert E . Lee realized the severity of the loss of Fort Harrison and personally brought 10 , 000 reinforcements under Maj . Gen . Charles Field north from Petersburg . On September 30 , Lee ordered a counter - attack to retake Fort Harrison , now commanded by Maj . Gen . Godfrey Weitzel , replacing the wounded Ord . The Confederate attacks were uncoordinated and were easily handled . Aftermath . Just as Grant had anticipated , the fighting around Chaffin ' s Farm forced Lee to shift his resources and helped the Union army south of Petersburg win the Battle of Peebles ' Farm . After October , the two armies settled into trench warfare that continued until the end of the war . The fighting around Chaffin ' s Farm cost the nation nearly 5 , 000 casualties . See also . Medal of Honor recipients . Three Medal of Honor recipients from the 6th U . S . Colored Infantry Regiment are depicted in a painting , " Three Medals of Honor " by artist Don Troiani . The painting is scheduled to be unveiled June 24 , 2013 at the Union League of Philadelphia . Portrayed in the painting are Nathan H . Edgerton , Thomas R . Hawkins , and Alexander Kelly .