ColumbiadGunatFortDarlingOverlookingJamesRiver

Chaffin's Bluff is located in

Henrico County, Virginia Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a County (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population wa ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, on the north side of the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

, opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. Located at a major bend in the river about eight miles south of Richmond, both bluffs were fortified by the Confederates early in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

History

A Union attempt to take Richmond by water by the

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

USS ''Monitor'' and other Union warships during the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

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. On August 15, 1864, the Federal expedition to Chaffin's Bluff and the capital's defenses was delayed and frustrated by Confederate forces.''The Civil War: Day by Day—An Almanac 1861-1865'', by E. B. Long with Barbara Long, published in 1971 On September 30, 1864, there was another battle at Fort Harrison or Chaffin's Farm, Virginia. General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

had lost Fort Harrison the previous day, and led a strong counterattack, but was beaten off by the Federal forces. The battle ended major Federal attempts against Richmond from north of the James River, and the Confederates constructed new outer works between the Fort Harrison line and Richmond, while the Federals built 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 Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, president of the late Confederate States, Chaffin's Bluff was marked as "Chapin Bluff", 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. In modern times, singer and businessman

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean (brand), Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV comm ...

and his wife Donna Meade Dean made their home at Chaffin's Bluff, located on private property on the

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico Coun ...

side of the river. Dean died at his home there on June 13, 2010.

References

{{Coord, 37, 25, 24, N, 77, 23, 52, W, display=title Henrico County, Virginia, in the American Civil War Virginia in the American Civil War Landforms of Henrico County, Virginia Hills of Virginia