News from the American Battlefield Trust February 4, 2021
Every piece of preserved battlefield land comes with a reason for celebration, but today’s victory is a particularly humbling one. In the quickly developing Richmond suburbs, the American Battlefield Trust has secured 22 acres at New Market Heights, bringing the total holdings at the Virginia site to 88 largely contiguous acres.
With a historic marker on the north side of the road just east of Interstate 295, many have driven past the New Market Heights Battlefield without ever hearing of the heroics that took place there on September 29, 1864. A story of true grit and sacrifice, some 2,000 Black soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), dove into battle at the site — fighting through formidable obstructions, swampy terrain and a searing fire in order to divert Confederate attention from Union movement around Petersburg.
The bravery demonstrated that day resulted in 14 USCT soldiers receiving the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor — only a total of 25 Black men were awarded this distinction during the entire Civil War. Two white officers leading USCT units — a bold commission to carry into battle — also received the honor. This is a story that needs to be told... and we believe that preserving this battlefield is an important step to making this often-untold piece of the Civil War history common knowledge for all Americans.
The 22-acre tract you’ve helped us save is an integral portion of the New Market Heights Battlefield, a landscape that felt the resolute footsteps of Col. Samuel Duncan’s and Col. Alonzo G. Draper’s brigades of Black soldiers as they pushed northward toward Four Mile Creek and the Confederate earthworks in a morning “fog that enwrapped them like the mantle of death.” The 2,000 Black soldiers involved sustained 800 casualties. The dauntless valor of these men is engrained in this hallowed ground, and its preservation opens doors for expanded interpretation at a site that will become an outdoor classroom for current and future generations of Americans.
This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without your continued investment in America’s battlefields, including sites that have the power to speak for those whom the historical narrative has too-often overlooked. Recognizing the special, historical value of the project, the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund awarded a substantial matching grant. The fund has been instrumental in helping the Trust save thousands of acres across the Commonwealth.
And so, while we celebrate the addition of 22 acres at New Market Heights, the Trust remains committed to preserving an array of sites where Black soldiers fought for the growth and unity of a nation — as well as their own freedom. We wish to promote these stories of service not only this Black History Month, but all year round.
All my thanks,
David N. Duncan
President, American Battlefield Trust