Fort (Battery) Alexander |
Battery (Redoubt) Anderson |
Camp Beall |
Fort Beauregard (3)
Beaver Dam Creek |
Belle Isle Battery |
Belle Isle Camp |
Bellona Arsenal
Bermuda Hundred Line |
Camp Bottoms Bridge |
Fort Brady |
Brook Hill Fort
Battery Brooks |
Fort Burnham |
Battery Burpee |
Fort (Redoubt) Carpenter (2)
Chaffin's Bluff |
Fort Charity |
Fort Charles (2) |
Chesterfield C.H. Camp |
Chickahominy Bluff
Fort (Battery) Clement |
Battery Clingman |
Cobb's Hill Redoubt |
Cold Harbor |
Fort Colquitt
Confederate Ordnance Laboratory |
Camp Corbin |
Battery Dantzler |
Fort Darling
Deep Bottom Earthworks |
De La Warr's Fort |
Camp Dimmock |
Fort (Redoubt) Drake
Drewry's Bluff |
Dutch Gap Battery |
Fort (Redoubt) Dutton (2) |
Fort Elizabeth
Fort (Battery) Fletcher |
Fort Gilmer |
Golding's Farm |
Battery Gracie |
Camp Grant
Fort Gregg (1) |
Battery Hagood |
Fort Harrison (2) |
Citie of Henricus |
Fort Hoke
Fort Hope in Faith |
Fort Howlett |
Howlett's Battery |
Howlett Line |
Camp Jackson
Fort Jackson (3) |
James River Fort |
Fort Johnson (2) |
Battery Kershaw |
Battery Kirkland
Camp Lee (1) |
Camp Lee (3) |
Fort Lee (2) |
Fort (Redoubt) McConihe |
Battery Marshall
Fort Maury |
Camp Mitchell |
Fort Mount Malady |
New Bridge Batteries |
Fort None Such
Fort Nonsuch |
Parker's Battery |
Fort (Battery) Parsons |
Fort Patience |
Battery Perry
Powhatan Town |
Fort (Battery) Pruyn |
Fort Richardson (2) |
Richmond Arsenal (1)
Richmond Armory/Arsenal (2) |
Richmond Area Battlefields |
Richmond Defenses
Fort (Battery) Sawyer |
Battery Semmes |
Seven Pines |
Signal Hill Battery (2)
Fort (Battery) Spofford |
Fort (Battery) Stevens (2) |
Camp Henry Stuart (1) |
Fort Sumner
Battery Terrill |
Totopotomoy Creek |
Battery Walker |
Fort (Redoubt) Wead
Fort West (1) |
West's Fort |
Westham Arsenal |
Battery White |
Battery Wilcken
Fort (Battery) Wilcox |
Camp Winder (1) |
Camp Winthrop |
Fort Wisconsin |
Battery Wood
Fort Zabriskie
Northern Virginia - page 1 | Northern Virginia II - page 2 | Central Virginia I - page 3
Central Virginia II - page 4 | Tidewater Virginia - page 6 | James River Area - page 7
Hampton Roads - page 8 | Northwestern Virginia - page 9 | Southwestern Virginia - page 10
Eastern Shore - page 11
VIRGINIA CIVIL WAR TRAILS
Early Richmond Forts
(1609, 1610, 1637, 1676, 1685), Richmond
Early colonial settlements included Capt. Francis West's Fort (aka Fort West (1)) (1609), near South 9th Street, and Fort Nonsuch (or None Such) (1609), established by Capt. John Smith at the Indian palisaded Powhatan Town, on the north bank of the James River, probably near Almond Creek ("Powhatan" state marker located on Osborne Turnpike just south of Oakland Road). These were abandoned after Monacan Indian raids. Lord De La Warr's Fort was established on the opposite (south) bank in 1610 by Governor Thomas West. It too was soon abandoned. A trading post was later established at the site of Fort West in 1637.
The second settlement attempt of the area, James River Fort (1676), was a fortified community and trading post on the south bank of the James River (Manchester) near Goode Creek, established by William Byrd I. It was refortified in 1685. Richmond as a city was founded in 1737.
Fort Charles (2)
(1645 - 1649 ?), Richmond
A VA colonial militia fort built near the head of navigation on the James River somewhere below the falls. Dismantled for the lumber soon after its use ended.
Westham Arsenal
(1779 - 1781), Westham
A major state militia supply depot located on the north bank of the James River at Westham Creek. It was the target of the 1781 British raid under turncoat General Benedict Arnold, in which all the remaining supplies not removed west were destroyed. The depot was not rebuilt after the war. The town, originally named Beverly, was founded in 1752. "British Invasion of Richmond" state marker located on Broad Street at Patrick Henry Park.
Camp Mitchell
(1812), Richmond
A VA state militia training camp. Undetermined location.
Militia troops were encamped near Malvern Hill (Henrico County) sometime during the War of 1812.
Richmond Civil War Camps
(Civil War Richmond by Mike Gorman)
(1860 - 1865), Richmond
Camp Lee (1) (1860), located at the State Fairgrounds (aka Central or Hermitage Fairgrounds) north of Broad Street along Lehigh Street, near the present-day Science Museum of Virginia (former Broad Street Railroad Station). Became a Union parole camp in 1865, and later a freedman's camp for former slaves. Traces of earthworks still existed until 2014, when the site became part of the new Washington Redskins training facility.
Camp Winder (1) (1861), located just east of present-day William Byrd Park, bounded by present-day Winder, Amelia, and Hampton Streets, and Allen Avenue. Became a Union parole camp in 1865 known as Camp Grant.
Camp Dimmock (1861), undetermined location ("beyond the city reservoir") west of William Byrd Park. One source mentions at "Shield's Spring".
Camp Jackson (1861), an artillery recruitment camp on the John Shield's Farm on tbe west side of town beyond Hollywood Cemetery. Became a Union parole camp in 1865. Site bounded by present-day Idlewood Avenue, Jacquelin Street, Allen Avenue, and Lombardy Street.
An unnamed CSA muster-in camp (1861) was located at Western Square (present-day Monroe Park, formerly the old state fairgrounds before 1859), later becoming the barracks of the Richmond City Guard, and later in 1864 as the Stuart Military Hospital. Became a Union parole camp in 1865 known as Camp Winthrop.
Belle Isle Prison Camp, a POW camp for Union enlisted troops. An extant Confederate gun battery is located on the hill at the western end of the island. Several markers are located along a walking trail around the island.
Civil War Defenses of Richmond
(Civil War Richmond by Mike Gorman)
(1862 - 1865), Richmond
Richmond was surrounded by three defensive fortification rings beginning in 1862. The Outer Defense Line circled about five miles out on the north and east sides of the city, for a total linear length of about 65 miles. Chickahominy Bluff (NPS site) has three two-gun earthwork batteries remaining (state marker on US 360); and the preserved remnants of Brook Hill Fort (three guns) are located along Upham Brook Run north of the present city line at Brook Hill in the Brook Run shopping center (state marker and monument on US 1 (Brook Rd.) about 0.25 mile north of I-95, adjacent to an additional line of earthworks running east through a heavily wooded area). An "Outer Defense" state marker is located on Broad Street (US 250) just north of Dickens Rd. (no remains). Another monument is located on Westbrook Ave. at Hermitage Road. The Outer Line was extended east after the Battle of Seven Pines (June 1862) from the James River to the Chickahominy River. Remnants of one or two two-gun batteries and 300 yards of earthworks are located on the grounds of Richmond International Airport near the Virginia Aviation Museum. A monument is located on Williamsburg Road about 0.1 mile west of Sandburne Parkway; and a monument for CSA Fort Lee (2) is located on Charles City Road about 0.3 mile east of South Airport Drive.
The Intermediate Defense Line was located about two to three miles out from the city, composed of 25 forts and batteries (state marker located at Laburnum and Chamberlayne Aves.). Other historic markers are located on Mechanicsville Turnpike (US 360) about 0.2 mile north of Laburnum Ave. (East Highland Park); on Brook Road at Walton Ave.; on Monument Ave. just west of Roseneath Road; on River Road at Three Chopt Road; on Williamsburg Road (US 60) at Eanes Lane; and on Darbytown Road about 0.1 mile east of Shirleydale Ave.. The remnants of a small fort or battery are located at Breastworks Park in the Windsor Farms neighborhood near Canterbury and Clovelly Roads (monument erected 1958). The Outer and Intermediate Defense Lines were never fully completed, and rarely manned full-time until after June 1864 and the beginning of the siege of Petersburg and Richmond. With the exception of Fort Harrison (2) (see below), the formidable defensive lines never fell to the Union until Richmond was evacuated in April 1865.
The Inner Defense Line was about 12 miles long, located just outside the war-time city limits, and consisted of 17 numbered "star" forts and seven outworks for 218 guns. The Inner Defense works were essentially completed before Petersburg fell in April 1865. None of these works exist today. Approximate present-day locations of the numbered forts were:
#1 on the James River near Almond Creek.
#2 at Osborne and New Osborne Turnpikes, with outworks.
#3 at Darbytown and Williamsburg Roads.
#4 at "O" and 36th Streets, with an outwork at 40th and "M" Streets.
#5 at Nine Mile and Creighton Roads.
#6 at Mechanicsville Turnpike and I-64.
#7 at Richmond-Henrico Ave. and Willow Street, with outworks. (a Battery Street is nearby)
#8 in Battery Park.
#9 on the present-day Virginia Union University campus.
#10 historic monument (1915) on Monument Ave. just west of Strawberry Street.
#11 at Main Street and Stafford Ave. (?); or at Cary Street and Davis Ave. (?).
#12 in Maymont Park.
#13 at Riverside Drive and 20th Street.
#14 at Riverside Drive and Forest Hill Park (Reedy Creek).
#15 at Midlothian Turnpike and 32nd Street.
#16 historic monument on Holly Spring Ave. about 0.1 mile north of Hopkins Road.
#17 historic monument (1929) on US 1 at Harwood Street.
Belle Isle Battery, an extant earthwork two-gun battery is located on the western end of Belle Isle. Markers on walking trail.
Richmond Area Battlefields
(Richmond National Battlefield Park)
Civil War Defenses of Richmond - FORT WIKI
(The American Civil War Museum)
(1862 - 1865), Richmond and vicinity
The main NPS park unit includes the 1864 Confederate works of Battery Kershaw, Battery Gracie, Battery (?), Battery Terrill, Battery Clingman, Battery Hagood, Battery Kirkland, Fort Colquitt, Fort (Battery) Alexander, Fort Gilmer, Fort Gregg (1), Fort Johnson (2), Fort Beauregard (3) (no remains), Fort Harrison (2) (renamed Fort Burnham after capture by the Union), Battery White, Fort Hoke, Fort Maury, plus several other small unnamed batteries and miles of earthworks. Historic monuments are located on Mill Road at Battlefield Park Road; on New Market Road at Battlefield Park Road (Fort Gilmer); on Varina Road about 1 mile south of Mill Road (Fort Harrison); on Darbytown Road about 0.5 mile east of Strath Road; and on Darbytown Road about 0.2 mile east of Laburnum Ave.. The Union built Fort Brady and Batteries II, III, IV (eight guns), V, and Advanced Batteries A, B, C, D, after Fort Harrison was captured and the trench lines were shifted. Chaffin's Bluff, including Smith's Battery and Coles Run Battery (four guns), opposite Drewry's Bluff, was fortified by the Confederates beginning in May 1862. Battlefield Tour - Fort Gilmer to Fort Brady
Outside the main park unit lies the CSA forts of Drewry's Bluff (20 guns) (1862 - 1865) (known as Fort Darling to the Union), and Parker's Battery (1864). Drewry's Bluff also served as the land station for the Confederate Naval Academy (which was based on the school ship C.S.S. Patrick Henry) and Marine Corps Camp of Instruction (aka Camp Beall) from 1863, as well as the home station of the CSA James River Squadron, and was surrounded on the north and west (present-day Bellwood area) by extensive earthworks. Historic monuments located on Fort Darling Road (Fort Darling); on Perrymont Road about 0.1 mile north of Norcliff Road; on US 1 about 0.2 mile south of Willis Road; and on US 1 at Wonderview Road (Half-Way House). Downriver near Bellwood Manor was Battery Brooks. There was also Battery Semmes and Battery Wood on the James River. Fort (Battery) Stevens (2) and Battery Dantzler (six guns) (formerly Fort Howlett or Howlett's Battery), both from 1864, are part of the Chesterfield County Parks System (at 8900 Pams Ave. and at 1820 Battery Dantzler Road, respectively). There was also Fort Jackson (3) (no remains). These works formed the Confederate Howlett Line (state marker on VA 10 east of I-95). Howlett Line Park (Chesterfield County Parks) contains extant earthworks, and is located at 14100 Howlett Line Drive. Ware Bottom Church Battlefield Park (Chesterfield County Parks) also contains over 1500 feet of extant earthworks, located at 1600 Old Bermuda Hundred Road.
See also The Civil War in Chesterfield County
Traces of Union earthworks exist at the June 1862 Seven Pines - Fair Oaks Battlefield near Sandston (three lines in a north-south direction). Traces of Union works (June 1862 Seven Days Battles) still exist at Golding's Farm on North Washington Street in Highland Springs. Numbered Union works in this area were:
Redoubt #1 (8 guns) a lunette south of Seven Pines towards White Oak Swamp,
Redoubt #2 (6 guns) a redan south of Seven Pines,
Redoubt #3 (aka Casey's Redoubt) (5 guns) an irregular pentagon in Seven Pines about 200 yards south of Williamsburg Road,
Redoubt #4 (aka Fort Sumner) (9 guns) a pentagon north of Williamsburg Road south of the railroad, due west of Fair Oaks Station,
Redoubt #5 (aka Fort Richardson (2)) (6 guns) a pentagon north of the railroad near the Quarles House in Fair Oaks,
Redoubt #6 (6 guns) a square at Golding's Farm.
"McClellan's First Line" state marker located on US 60 west of Finley Drive. "McClellan's Second Line" state marker located at 400 Williamsburg Road (US 60). "McClellan's Third Line" state marker located on Old Williamsburg Road at Old Dry Bridge Road.
Union earthworks at the June 1862 Beaver Dam Creek - Mechanicsville Battlefield, originally about one and one-half miles, no longer exist except for about 50 yards of trenches and one battery on the eastern side of the creek.
At the Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield (May 1864) near Rural Point, preserved Confederate and Union entrenchments are located along both sides of Totopotomoy Creek. Remnants of various works also still exist in some heavily wooded areas near Pole Green and Academy (private property). Historic monuments are located on Studley Road about 0.7 mile west of Shelton Pointe Drive; and on Studley Road about 0.8 mile east of Avondale Drive. In 2006 about 124 acres of the battlefield including the 1670 Shelton House ("Rural Plains") and large sections of earthworks became part of the NPS Richmond National Battlefield Park (opened to the public in September 2011).
Cold Harbor Battlefield (June 1864) had six miles of Confederate and Union earthworks, in a general north-south line between Old Cold Harbor and New Cold Harbor running north to Bethesda Church, with about two miles that are nicely preserved along the auto tour route within the park, and also including preserved Union works at the Garthright House (Hanover County Parks). Several Union redoubts were built after the main battle, including Fort (Battery) Clement and Fort (Battery) Fletcher (still extant on a small hill near Beulah Church, on private property). The Union also had an unfinished redoubt near Bethesda Church, near Newman on the Mechanicsville Turnpike (US 360). Remnants of various works still exist near the Bethesda Church site (owned by the A.P.V.A.).
Richmond CSA Arsenal
(1861 - 1865), Richmond FORT WIKI
A state repository for small arms originally built as the Virginia Manufactory of Arms in 1798, which ceased production in 1821. Also variously referred to as the State Arsenal/Armory, or the Richmond Arsenal (2). Located between 4th and 6th Streets on the south side of the canal, near the James River. The CSA began production of small arms here in October 1861, using the production machinery captured at the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Some of the machinery was moved south to Macon, Georgia in June 1862. The rest of the machinery was moved to Danville in early 1865, but was never put back into operation. Destroyed in the evacuation fire, an attempt was made to rebuild it after the war, but ultimately the arsenal was completely razed by 1900. Nothing remains today.
Richmond CSA Ordnance Laboratory
(1861 - 1865), Richmond
A Confederate Ordnance Laboratory was located on Brown's Island, originally located at the Thomas Factory at 7th and Arch Streets.
Bellona Arsenal
(1816 - 1837, 1863 - 1865), near Westchester FORT WIKI
A Federal arsenal located on the south bank of the James River, just outside the present city limits of Richmond. Also known as the Richmond Arsenal (1). It was sold in 1837. The Confederate government leased the old arsenal and nearby Bellona Foundry during the Civil War. Partially dismantled in 1872. Ruins still exist on Bellona Arsenal Road at Old Gun Road. Three buildings still survive on the present 6.8 acre site, converted to a private residence in 1943. Private property.
Camp Lee (3)
(1898), Richmond
A Spanish-American War state muster camp located at the State (Hermitage) Fairgrounds, located just north of the Broad Street Railroad Station (present-day Science Museum of Virginia). This is probably the same location as the Civil War Camp Lee (1).
Camp Henry C. Stuart (1)
(1916), Richmond
A state guard mobilization camp for the Mexican Border Crisis of 1916. Located at the State Fairgrounds at Hermitage.
New Bridge Batteries
(1862), near Simkins Corner
Four Union six-gun earthwork batteries were constructed on the north bank of the Chickahominy River to protect the northern and eastern approaches to the New Bridge during the June 1862 Seven Days battles. No remains. Located near the present-day Creighton Road and I-295 interchange.
Camp Bottoms Bridge
(1814), Bottoms Bridge
A large state militia camp on the Chickahominy River.
Camp H. C. Corbin
(1898), near Poplar Spring
A Spanish-American War mobilization camp for black state troops, located along the C&O Railroad about ten miles southeast of Richmond.
Chesterfield Courthouse Camp
(1780 - 1781), Chesterfield
A training camp and rendezvous established for Virginia recruits to the Continental Army. State marker on VA 10.
Coxendale Forts
(1612 - 1622), Coxendale
An early settlement established by Sir Thomas Dale, across the James River from Henricus, protected by four forts or blockhouses known as Fort Charity (aka Fort Hope in Faith), Fort Elizabeth, Fort Patience, and Fort Mount Malady (a protected "sickhouse" and hospital complex). The palisaded 12-acre town was abandoned after the 1622 Indian raids. The present course of the James River has changed over the years.
Citie of Henricus
(Henricus Historical Park)
(1611 - 1622), Dutch Gap
The seven-acre palisaded settlement on Farrar Island is a reconstruction of the second permanent English settlement in the state, which was originally intended to replace Jamestown as the capital. The original settlement had three streets, and there were five watchtowers, one at each corner of the palisade. Sir Thomas Dale used a Dutch fortification technique to dig a ditch and construct a palisade behind the ditch to protect the village. The great ditch became known as "Dale's Dutch Gap". In 1622 Indians entered the fort and used the colonists' own weapons to slay them. The town was not resettled. The actual town site no longer exists due to river course changes over the years. State marker located on VA 5 about 0.3 mile east of I-295. Admission fee to park.
Dutch Gap Battery
(1864), Dutch Gap
The Dutch Gap Canal was to be a Union shortcut through the winding James River, cutting off nearly five water miles - and thus bypassing this Confederate battery and also Batteries Howlett, Wood, and Semmes. CSA Signal Hill Battery (2) was located across the river from where Union troops were building the canal. The Confederates were constantly firing on the Union troops and caused numerous delays of the canal's construction. A Union battery was built just to the east of the canal for protection. The war ended before construction was fully complete. The canal was not finished until 1871 (later widened in the 1930's), and a lighthouse was built here at that time.
Cobb's Hill Redoubt
(1864), near Varina Grove
A Union redoubt protected a signal station east of Four Mile Creek above New Market Road (VA 5).
Deep Bottom Earthworks
(1864), Deep Bottom
Union infantry parapets and a gun battery surrounded the landing and pontoon crossing on the James River, near the mouth of Roundabout Creek (Three Mile Run). An outer line of six redoubts and redans provided further protection, including one work named Battery Wilcken.
Bermuda Hundred Line
(1864), Chesterfield County
Union forts (no remains), west of the present-day corridor of I-295, included Fort (Battery) Sawyer (near Dutch Gap), Fort (Battery) Spofford, Fort (Battery) Parsons, Fort (Battery) Wilcox, Fort (Redoubt) Drake (trace remnants exist along VA 10 at the head of Johnson Creek), Fort (Redoubt) Carpenter (2), Battery Perry, Fort (Redoubt) McConihe, Battery (Redoubt) Anderson, Battery Marshall, Fort (Battery) Pruyn, Fort (Redoubt) Dutton (2), Battery Walker, Fort (Redoubt) Wead (Chesterfield County Parks - Sgt. Engle Park at 1107 Greyledge Blvd.), Battery Burpee, and Fort Zabriskie on the Appomattox River near Port Walthall. "The 'Bottle'" state marker located on US 1 about 2.8 miles north of the Colonial Heights city line.
Undetermined location: Fort Wisconsin.
NEED MORE INFO: Street names: Fort McHenry Parkway, Fort King Drive, and Fort Hill Drive in western Henrico County; Fort Sumter Road in western Chesterfield County, Fortview Drive in eastern Chesterfield County. Fort Alvis in eastern Henrico County.
Towns:
QUESTIONS ? Please send any corrections and/or additions to this list to:
"Updates" at NorthAmericanForts.com