SEPTEMBER 30, 1864:
The
Battle of Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights (Day Two):
After losing control of the outer forts
of Richmond’s defensive ring, Robert E. Lee counterattacks the Union positions
with 12,000 Petersburg troops he has just brought to Richmond. The attack,
though forceful, goes nowhere, as the Union troops have reinforced the captured
forts, entrenched, and put up obstacles.
Of the 27,000 Union troops engaged, about 3,400 are
casualties. The Confederacy loses 2,000 of 14,000 men. The ferocity of the
battle may be guessed by considering this one statistic: Of the 16 Medals of
Honor bestowed upon U.S.C.T. in the war, 14 are bestowed for this engagement.
After the battle, Lee has no choice but to dig in and leave
his reinforcements in place. Petersburg is permanently weakened and the Rebs
and Yanks face each other in their miserable trenches outside Richmond all
through the winter.
The Battle of Peebles Farm: As
fighting rages along the line at Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights, a
corresponding battle is going on at Peebles Farm. Ulysses S. Grant’s attacks
the inner defensive ring near Peebles Farm with the intention is to pressure
Lee’s lines into collapse, and indeed Lee must rush troops from Chaffin’s Farm
(on the eastern side of his defensive ring) to Peebles Farm (on the western
side of his defensive ring) and back again to meet the dual threats. The Confederate
line at Peebles Farm (along the Squirrel Level Road) ultimately caves in, and
the Federals occupy Fort Archer in the Confederate outer defensive ring.
