Oct. 7, 1864 - Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads

Oct. 7, 1864

Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads (AKA Johnson's Farm or Four Mile Creek) 

Henrico Co., VA

Grant: X Corps. (David B. Birney and August V. Kautz)

vs.

Lee: 2 Divisions 

* This battle is definitely not the Second Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road. However, it is also not to be confused with the Battle of Darbytown Road a week later, though it totally is. I don't know whether to blame Harper's Weekly or Wikipedia, but this image is labeled "The Battle of Darbytown Road, October 7, 1864," but it can't be both, as the Battle of Darbytown Road was Oct. 13. 

* Lee's last advance before ordering The Retreat out of Richmond 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=310301

One Last Advance

Battle of Darbytown (New Market) Road

— Siege of Petersburg & Richmond 1864-1865 —

For almost ten months beginning in mid-June 1864, the Army of the Potomac besieged the cities of Petersburg and Richmond from the east and south. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Union fortifications extended west of Petersburg and launched frequent attacks there and near Richmond, forcing Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to stretch his thin defensive lines and move his outnumbered troops to counter the attacks. On April 3, 1865, Lee evacuated his army west after the Federal breakthrough at Petersburg, and the Union army occupied both cities.

The last advance by the Army of Northern Virginia north of the James River took place directly across New Market Road in October 1864, on orders of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gen. Charles W. Field's division, with Gen. Robert F. Hoke's division in support, was to overwhelm Union Gen. August V. Kautz's cavalry division on Darbytown Road and then turn south to recapture Fort Harrison, which the Federals hod occupied on September 29. The battle began successfully at dawn on October 7 as the combined Confederate assault overpowered the Union cavalry stationed  on Darbytown Road. Two hours elapsed before the attack could continue, however, giving Union Gen. Alfred H. Terry time to redeploy his division to face the Confederate attack in the fields just north of here. For unknown reasons, Hoke's division failed to support Field. Union infantry, armed with Spencer repeating rifles, inflicted heavy casualties on the Confederates. Wooded, difficult terrain caused disorganization among the Confederate brigades. At the height of the fighting, Confederate Gen. John Gregg was shot in the neck and killed while leading his Texas brigade. The attack soon feel apart, and the remnants of the Confederate force withdrew west to their original defensive lines. Lee's last advance north of the James River resulted in more than 1,00 Confederate casualties while the Federals suffered fewer than 500. 

The Union victory at the Battle of Darbytown Road can be attributed in part to advanced weapon technology. Most of Gen. Joseph C Abbott's infantry regiments in Terry's division were equipped with Spencer rifles - a magazine-fed, lever-action weapon utilizing metal cartridges. The rifles had a firing rate of one shot every three seconds, far faster than the single-shot rifles that most Confederates carried. James Spencer designed the rifle in 1860, but the U.S. Army did not begin introducing them until 1863; carbines came later. 

Capt. Albert Maxfield, 11th Maine Infantry, wrote that it seemed as if the Spencer rifles fired "seven volleys in one...The rebels stopped broke and feel back to cover, leaving the woods piled with their dead and dying." 

And a previous version of the marker put it this way:

Battle of Darbytown Road
Lee’s Last Advance North of the James

A massive two-pronged Union attack on September 29, 1864, captured New Market Heights and a section of Richmond’s outer defenses including Fort Harrison. Not wishing to concede a vital part of his line to the enemy, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee ordered a counterattack the next day. The assault failed miserably. Undaunted, Lee ordered a second attempt. On October 7, with cavalry and two divisions of infantry, Lee attempted to regain the lost fortifications around Fort Harrison. It would be his last major offensive north of the James River.

The attack began well for the Confederates. With the support of the cavalry, Gen. Charles Field’s infantry division overwhelmed Federal cavalry under Gen. August Kautz along Darbytown Road. Following up his early success, Field turned south to attack Gen. Alfred Terry’s Federal division along New Market Road. However, Field’s support, under Gen. Robert Hoke, remained inactive. Without Hoke, Field’s three brigades pushed straight ahead. Terry’s command had the advantage of fighting behind earthworks and firing with Spencer repeating rifles. The Federal artillery quickly got  into action and punished the Confederate attack. Nearly 1,000 men fell in the short, bitter struggle. By noon, the firing ceased and the Southern survivors faded away.

“My dear Brother, As I know you will be anxious to hear from me when you hear of the fight that occurred yesterday, I therefore take the earliest opportunity to inform you that I have been permitted to survive another terrible fight…the order was given to charge and we raised a yell and dashed forward at a double quick. We got up within forty yards of the enemy and was ordered to halt, our line being cut down so fast it was thought advisable to halt and await reinforcements, but the support did not come up and we was compelled to fall back. It was the heaviest fire we ever was under, and we lost about one third of our men.” - - James S. Wingard, Palmetto Sharpshooters, South Carolina. Letter to his brother, October 8, 1864

 

See Also:

https://web.archive.org/web/20111117000216/http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/Battles/va077.htm