Chaffin's Bluff
Encyclopedia
Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia
, United States
, along the James River
. Chaffin's Bluff on the north side of the river opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond
. Located at a major bend in the river about eight miles south of Richmond, both bluffs were fortified by the Confederate
s early in the American Civil War
.
A Union
attempt to take Richmond by water by the ironclad USS Monitor
and other Union warships during the Peninsula Campaign
failed to get past the defenses at this location during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff
on May 15, 1862.
Chaffin's Bluff and Chaffin's Farm (later renamed Fort Harrison) were adjacent to each other. Oscar F. Baxter, a surgeon in the Confederate Army, told of his posting to Chaffin's Farm in a letter from Richmond dated June 6, 1864 to his twelve-year-old daughter. (Dr. Baxter, a native of Camden County, North Carolina, was a widower; his daughter was being cared for by relatives.)
I am about to get off for Chaffin's Farm, about 10 miles from Richmond. I received orders the 1st of June, but have been too unwell to obey them till this morning...I have been worked down and there is no end of it—I have never seen so many badly wounded men together as I have seen in the Yankee Hospital—800 or more all desperately wounded. My hands have been in dreadful condition from wounds received in operating on them. The fighting is still going on near Rich--
Two months later, in an August 18 letter to his daughter from "Post hospital, Chaffin's Bluff," Dr. Baxter describes the locale.
I have just learnt the probable cause of the miscarriage of your letters. I am at Chaffin's Bluff and not Chaffin's Farm, where I was first ordered. The Headquarters of both Bluff and farm are all in sight - half or threequarters of a mile apart...
In a letter to her dated the previous day (August 17), he hopes to get a few days furlough after this demonstration of the Yanks is over.
Later in that letter, he describes the fighting going on around him.
The Yanks are very near here, have been fighting for two days—shot and shell flying all in sight of my hospital. It is possible I shall have to move out of the building tomorrow.
(The actual letters from which the above excerpts are taken are in the possession of Dr. Baxter's great-grandson, who lives in Baltimore County, Maryland. Earlier, Dr. Baxter had been an assistant surgeon in the United States Navy; excerpts from a letter to his fiancée dated October 1, 1846, posted from the Pensacola, Florida navy yard, where his ship, the frigate Potomac had called en route to the U.S.-Mexican War are included in that article under the section "Letter from a Naval surgeon on board the frigate 'Potomac' en route to Mexico." When North Carolina seceded from the Union at the time of the Civil War, he joined the Confederate army.)
In The Civil War: Day by Day—An Almanac 1861-1865, by E. B. Long with Barbara Long, published in 1971, it is noted that, on August 15, 1864, "North of the James, east of Richmond, the Federal expedition to Chaffin's Bluff and the capital's defenses encountered delays and frustration at the hands of Confederate defenders." The book also refers to the "Battle of Fort Harrison or Chaffin's Farm, Virginia," which took place on September 30, 1864. "After losing Fort Harrison on the previous day, (General Robert E.) Lee directed vigorous counterattacks. but the Federals, having virtually turned the earthwork around, beat off the Southern assaults. This ended major Federal attempts against Richmond from north of the James. The Confederates constructed new outer works between the Fort Harrison line and Richmond, while the Federals built up and manned siege lines east of the Confederate capital."
On a map included in Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, published in 1881 by Jefferson Davis, the president of the late Confederate States, Chaffin's Bluff is noted as "Chapin Bluff"; using the scale of the map, it is 8.5 miles down the James River from Richmond.
Drewry's Bluff is part of the Fort Darling
unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park
. Visitors can view the gun emplacements, the earthworks, and appreciate the commanding views and control over the river the bluff affords.
However, in modern times, singer and businessman Jimmy Dean
and his wife Donna Meade Dean made their home at Chaffin's Bluff, which is located on private property on the Henrico County side of the river. The singer-businessman died peacefully at his home there on Sunday, June 13, 2010, according to his widow.
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, along the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
. Chaffin's Bluff on the north side of the river opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Located at a major bend in the river about eight miles south of Richmond, both bluffs were fortified by the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
s early in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
A Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
attempt to take Richmond by water by the ironclad USS Monitor
USS Monitor
USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...
and other Union warships during the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
failed to get past the defenses at this location during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff
Battle of Drewry's Bluff
The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, or Fort Drewry, took place on May 15, 1862, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Five American warships, including the ironclads and , steamed up the James River to...
on May 15, 1862.
Chaffin's Bluff and Chaffin's Farm (later renamed Fort Harrison) were adjacent to each other. Oscar F. Baxter, a surgeon in the Confederate Army, told of his posting to Chaffin's Farm in a letter from Richmond dated June 6, 1864 to his twelve-year-old daughter. (Dr. Baxter, a native of Camden County, North Carolina, was a widower; his daughter was being cared for by relatives.)
I am about to get off for Chaffin's Farm, about 10 miles from Richmond. I received orders the 1st of June, but have been too unwell to obey them till this morning...I have been worked down and there is no end of it—I have never seen so many badly wounded men together as I have seen in the Yankee Hospital—800 or more all desperately wounded. My hands have been in dreadful condition from wounds received in operating on them. The fighting is still going on near Rich--
Two months later, in an August 18 letter to his daughter from "Post hospital, Chaffin's Bluff," Dr. Baxter describes the locale.
I have just learnt the probable cause of the miscarriage of your letters. I am at Chaffin's Bluff and not Chaffin's Farm, where I was first ordered. The Headquarters of both Bluff and farm are all in sight - half or threequarters of a mile apart...
In a letter to her dated the previous day (August 17), he hopes to get a few days furlough after this demonstration of the Yanks is over.
Later in that letter, he describes the fighting going on around him.
The Yanks are very near here, have been fighting for two days—shot and shell flying all in sight of my hospital. It is possible I shall have to move out of the building tomorrow.
(The actual letters from which the above excerpts are taken are in the possession of Dr. Baxter's great-grandson, who lives in Baltimore County, Maryland. Earlier, Dr. Baxter had been an assistant surgeon in the United States Navy; excerpts from a letter to his fiancée dated October 1, 1846, posted from the Pensacola, Florida navy yard, where his ship, the frigate Potomac had called en route to the U.S.-Mexican War are included in that article under the section "Letter from a Naval surgeon on board the frigate 'Potomac' en route to Mexico." When North Carolina seceded from the Union at the time of the Civil War, he joined the Confederate army.)
In The Civil War: Day by Day—An Almanac 1861-1865, by E. B. Long with Barbara Long, published in 1971, it is noted that, on August 15, 1864, "North of the James, east of Richmond, the Federal expedition to Chaffin's Bluff and the capital's defenses encountered delays and frustration at the hands of Confederate defenders." The book also refers to the "Battle of Fort Harrison or Chaffin's Farm, Virginia," which took place on September 30, 1864. "After losing Fort Harrison on the previous day, (General Robert E.) Lee directed vigorous counterattacks. but the Federals, having virtually turned the earthwork around, beat off the Southern assaults. This ended major Federal attempts against Richmond from north of the James. The Confederates constructed new outer works between the Fort Harrison line and Richmond, while the Federals built up and manned siege lines east of the Confederate capital."
On a map included in Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, published in 1881 by Jefferson Davis, the president of the late Confederate States, Chaffin's Bluff is noted as "Chapin Bluff"; using the scale of the map, it is 8.5 miles down the James River from Richmond.
Drewry's Bluff is part of the Fort Darling
Fort Darling
Fort Darling was a Confederate military installation during the American Civil War located at Drewry’s Bluff, a high point overlooking a bend in the James River south of Richmond in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was the site of the 1862 Battle of Drewry's Bluff.It also served as the base of...
unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates more than 30 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for the majority of the war...
. Visitors can view the gun emplacements, the earthworks, and appreciate the commanding views and control over the river the bluff affords.
However, in modern times, singer and businessman Jimmy Dean
Jimmy Dean
Jimmy Ray Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad...
and his wife Donna Meade Dean made their home at Chaffin's Bluff, which is located on private property on the Henrico County side of the river. The singer-businessman died peacefully at his home there on Sunday, June 13, 2010, according to his widow.