New Market Heights – Narrative
By
John C Abercrombie
History is often filled with omissions and in many cases is boring especially when it consists of little more than dates, but as we examine this case, we will breathe life into an important battle of the American Civil War.
Many people have the mistaken belief that Black (Colored) troops were absent and did not play an important role in the war. During the battle of New Market Heights 14 Colored soldiers were awarded the “Medal of Honor”.
Events leading up to the Battle of New Market Heights began in the summer of 1864 when Union commander Ulysses S Grant directed the army of the Potomac commanded by Major General George Meade to push the Confederates from the Rappahannock River.
The counter strategy by General Robert E Lee was to form a complex array of trench lines and fortified strongpoints defending both Richmond and the supply routes running through Petersburg. War as we often imagine it consists of people shooting at each other, which is only part of the war.
Armies must have supplies and food, medicine, and other essentials. Maintaining them and disruptions play a critical aspect of war. If you can’t feed the troops, you lose. If you can’t keep them healthy, you lose.
Without considering all aspects of war, you can’t appreciate the complexity of it. Therefore, the disruption of supply lines, roads, railroads, and rivers was so important. It is also necessary to understand the physical layout of the battle area. Can the troops maneuver or are they protected from one direction by a barrier of some type?
Other dimensions of war require the consideration of reinforcement and replacement troops and equipment. In the case of Fort Pillow for example the request for 1 hour to consider the order and the refusal was based on the fact that the Confederates considered the possibility that it was only a stall tactic as they could have gotten supplies and replacements from the adjacent river. This does not excuse the slaughter of the troops, however.
Union General Grant planned 2 simultaneous attacks. In one Major General Benjamin Butler commander of the James River would move against Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy while Major George Meade would attack the Petersburg defenses.
The genius of this attack is that with Petersburg under attack, Confederates would not be able to counter Butler’s attack at the same time. Butler could then send thousands of troops into Richmond. The contingency is that if Butler could not break through, he could seize the Southside Railroad and close the supply line to Petersburg. Without supply from Petersburg, Richmond would crumble from lack of supplies.
Butler made a significant contribution to the Union cause because of his respect and compassionate treatment of freed slaves. In the early years of the war, escaped slaves were returned to the opposing Confederacy and slave owners. Butler declared these escaped slaves as “contraband of war”.
Lincoln originally opposed the idea. However, the Butler police was adopted by all Union authorities. Butler even encouraged the enlistment of Black troops. By 1864 Butlers troops included a Black division commanded by Brig General Charles in the XVIII Corps and a Black brigade of X corps under the command of Brig general William Birney.
The Confederates augmented the natural defenses of swamps and creeks, building a complex network of earthworks and downed trees etc.… There were cleared areas where the enemy would be sitting ducks. Making it almost impossible to penetrate to the fort.
The entire network was complex and extended to envelop the city o f Petersburg and the railroad connections that linked to Richmond. Many miles of such defenses protected Richmond.
The Confederate General Lee then had to keep an eye on Grant and the army of the James, a powerhouse of 35,000 men in the XVIII and X corps, a cavalry division around Williamsburg, Virginia commanded by General Benjamin Butler. That army was the largest contingent of Black United States forces.
In the winter of 1863-1864, Butler had recruited Blacks to bolster the ranks of his regiments of Colored Troops (Blacks). The General Order 46 made his position clear.
“The recruitment of colored troops has become the settled purpose of the Government … It is the duty of every officer and soldier to aid in this recruiting, irrespective of personal predilection.”
General Charles Paine’s 3rd division was made up of 3 all-USCT brigades, the 1st led by Colonel John Holman, the 2nd by Colonel Alonzo Draper and the 3rd by Colonel Samuel Duncan.
In 1864, Butler made several unsuccessful attempts to breach Richmond. Confederate General P G T Beauregard had forced Butler into his trenches and described Butler’s army as ‘completely shut off from further operation against Richmond as if it had been in a bottle tightly corked.’
With a presidential election only months away Grant wanted a decisive victory to lift the spirits of the war-weary North. However, he was frustrated by the siege of Petersburg.
Lee was a great tactician and frustrated Grant until he finally considered a complex proposal by Butler. This plan would draw Lee’s attention and force him to redeploy his troops north of the James. This in turn would allow the Army of the Potomac to launch an attack on the much-needed South Side Railroad. If in the process Butler captured Richmond, that would be all the better.
September 28, Butler called a council of war. In attendance were Major General David Birney of the X corps, Major General Edward O C Ord of the XVIII and Cavalry Division Brig General August V Kautz.
Ord’s XVVIII would make a surprise crossing of the James at Aiken Landing, requiring the building of a pontoon bridge in the predawn hours to capture Confederate Fort Harrison, they would then wheel left and destroy the Confederate bridges near Chaffin’s Bluff.
Simultaneously, Birney’s X Corps along with Paine’s USCT would cross the James River and advance from Deep Bottom, take New Market Heights and strike out for Richmond on the New Market Road.
Kautz’s cavalry would move to the Darbytown Road and when New Market Heights was cleared ride hard for Richmond.
Paine’s Black soldiers were to spearhead the attack on New Market Heights. Butler had been an early advocate for arming Black troops and had done so when he was overseeing the occupation of New Orleans in 1862.
During the Civil War there were myths that questioned the Black soldier and his performance under the harsh conditions of battle. This myth turned out to be only that a baseless myth.
There had been a battle at the Crater where Black troops had been led in battle by their White drunken commander. Butler hoped to erase the vestiges of that battle. Butler developed a detailed plan. Butler briefed his generals. In the pre-dawn hours of September 29, there was the steady sounds of men marching.
Communications are vital during war and showed in the misunderstanding on the part of General Birney. His troops were scheduled to arrive at the battle site the day before to allow for rest from the march.
The miscommunication resulted in them arriving at 2:00 am. Tired, hungry, and understrength because of stragglers. These troops would be going into battle with no hot food and little or no rest.
With so many troops moving the Confederates became award of the pending attack and by 4:00 am were having a hot breakfast and waiting for the arrival of the Union troops. The site was fortified with obstacles and difficult to penetrate.
Butler’s plans called for Birney to have 16,000 troops but the late arrival of the X troops left his with only 10,300. Birney formed 3 columns, however the first wave consisted of Paine’s 3rd division of USCT. Others would remain in reserve and pin down any potential Confederate reinforcements.
Butler rode through the Black troops, encouraging them and telling them to charge under the motto of “Remember Fort Pillow!” These attackers did not have percussion caps on their rifles, thus they could not fire. There was a reason for this. In those days it took time to fire and reload. Remember the obstacles and open spaces?
The 22nd USCT started the assault on the fort at 5:30 am. The men of Duncan’s 4th and 6th USCT were unaware that Paine’s division had been delayed by the swampy terrain. The geography of the battlefield worked against the attacking troops.
To reach the Confederates, the USCT had to cross 500 yards of a rising plain and the marshy swamp. On the other side of the creek was a heavily wooded ravine that ran along New Market Road, followed by 300 yards of sloped land towards the Confederate stronghold. All of this made the task of reaching the fort all the more difficult.
The Union forces had to negotiate the wooded ravine, splash through the marshes when the Confederates realized they were being attacked by Blacks. The derogatory shouts of “N****s!” echoed through out and fort.
The USCT had to negotiate an area filled with abatis (a field fortified with man made obstacles such as felled trees, much of it arranged as a barricade. In this case it was also fortified by ditches, mounds of earth, and palisades, which are a fence of wooden stakes fixed in the ground forming an enclosed defense.
The USCT crossed implanted logs drilled with holes holding crisscross sharpened wooden stakes. Most of the officers were killed or wounded. The sergeant of the 4th a Black assumed command. Only one of he 12 officers came off the field under their own power.
As the Black sergeant described it “… it was a deadly hailstorm of bullets weeping men down as hailstones sweep the leaves from trees … it was very evident that there was too much work cut out for our 2 regiments … we struggled through 2 lines of abatis and palisades, it was sheer madness …’
As is apparent, this was not a task for the faint of heart. As the 4th USCT became entangled in the first line of abatis the Confederates opened fire blowing apart the advancing unit in a matter of minutes as the color bearers and officers became easy targets.
Most of the attackers were killed. Duncan was felled and command passed to Colonel John W Ames of the 6th USCT. The men of the 6th launched their own attack and fared no better. All of this in a matter of 40 minutes.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Birney and Paine using Draper’s 1,300-man 2nd brigade. This included the 5th, 36th and 38th USCT. This time Draper aligned the regiments of the 5th USCT leading and followed by the 36th and 38th. This presented a different target than the long line deployed in the first attack. Draper’s front was only 6 companies wide and 10 deep.
These men also suffered a devastating blast of fire. These brave men hacked their way through obstacles and advanced on the fort. When the White officers were failed the Blacks rose and assumed command.
Draper’s account is the only official report in the Union’s Official Records and it describes the 2nd assault as developing much like the first ‘After passing about 300 yards through young pines, always under fire, we emerged up on the open plain about 800 yards from the enemy and within 20 or 30 yards of the open plain we encountered a swamp which broke the charge … our men were falling by the score (20’s).
After withstanding fire for what Draper estimated as a half hour, the confederate fire seemed to slacken. The men swept up the remnants of the 4th and 6th USCT and the determined attackers surged toward the Confederate positions.
Sergeants James H Harris, Edward Ratcliff, and Private William Barnes and 36th USCT Private James Gardiner were the first to enter the Confederate fort.
The determination of the men can be shown in Corporal Miles James of the 36th. He lost use of his left arm and continued firing at the army with his right. The left was later amputated, but he refused to leave the field of battle.
The USCT received recognition from J D Pickens of the Texas Brigade who acknowledge the fighting qualities of the attacking USCT “I want to say in this connection that in my opinion, no troops up to that time had fought us with more bravery than did those Negroes.”
There has never been debate about the losses at New Market Heights. The fighting was intense and lasted only about 80 minutes.
Duncan’s brigade suffered 68 killed, 300 wounded and 22 missing. Drapers brigade suffered 63 dead, 366 wounded and 23 missing. With all these losses Paine ordered the battered remnants to withdraw and move to support the attack on Fort Gilmer. The regiment then suffered another 100 killed. They fought and died but they did not surrender!
Butlers report to Secretary of war Edwin M Stanton ‘My Colored troops under General Paine carried entrenchments at the point of a bayonet … it was most gallantly done, with most severe loss. Their praises are in the mouth of every officer in this army. Treated fairly and disciplined, they have fought most heroically.’
There were only 2 avenues to Honor the USCT. One was promotion in rank and the other awarding a medal authorized by the congress in 1862 for bravery on the battlefield. That honor was the “Medal of Honor”.
The other was extremely limited Privates Barnes, Gardiner, and Veal as well as Corporal James were promoted to Sergeants but there were no promotions for 10 men who were already sergeants. We had not yet acquiesced to the idea of Black officers. Promotions for Sergeant Major Fleetwood and Sergeant Milton M Holland were refused by the War Department
In April of 1865, the War Department bestowed the “Medal of Honor” on 14 Black veterans of New Market Heights
• Barnes, William H
• Beaty, Powhatan
• Bronson, James H
• Fleetwood, Christian A
• Gardiner, James
• Harris, James H
• Hawkins, Thomas R
• Hilton, Alfred B
• Holland, Milton M
• James, Miles
• Kelly, Alexandre
• Pinn, Robert A
• Ratcliff, Edward
• Veal, Charles.
All members awarded the medal continued to serve with their regiments until the war ended. Sergeant Alfred Hilton died in a hospital, October of 1864
Sergeants Powhatan Beatty, Fleetwood and Kelly helped capture fort Fisher in 1865.
Sergeant Miles James asked to remain on active duty despite losing his arm and was permitted to serve with the regimental provost guard.
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