In the swampy woods off Kingsland Road, an earthen wall stands beside a ditch – the remains of a Civil War fort constructed by Union forces in their march toward the Confederate capital of Richmond.
“These are the entrenchments themselves,” said Julian Charity, assistant director of Henrico County Recreation & Parks.
On a recent visit, he noted how the elongated mound – known to historians as Fort 13 from the Battle of New Market Heights – had been shaped strategically with a sharp drop to put advancing enemy troops at a disadvantage. “There will be soldiers on the other side of that, looking over the embattlements towards the battlefield,” Charity said.
Nearly 162 years after the Union Army’s victory at New Market Heights on Sept. 29, 1864, Henrico is acquiring a core section of the battlefield, including the fort, so it can be preserved and eventually opened to the public.
The county’s plans include developing the New Market Heights Trail, a 3.2-mile shared-used path that will traverse the site, connecting Four Mile Creek Park and Deep Bottom Park. The trail will highlight how 14 members of the U.S. Colored Troops played a central role in the Union victory and subsequently became the first Black soldiers to earn the Medal of Honor.
The trail also will highlight how, after defecting from the Continental Army, Gen. Benedict Arnold passed through Four Mile Creek in 1781 to lead a British attack on Virginia. A timeline for trail construction has not been set.
“American Revolution history is there, too,” Charity said. “So, we’re connecting all of those little dots together and making it so that even the seasonal, weekend historian can get a little bit of something out of it.”
The Board of Supervisors voted in March to buy the 56.2-acre property from the American Battlefield Trust for $445,000. The acquisition frees the trust to focus on preserving other historic sites that are threatened by development. It also highlights a county focus on preserving significant lands that has intensified over the past decade, Varina District Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson said.
More than 3,000 acres are being preserved through two purchases alone – Varina Farms in 2024 and Wilton Farm in 2019. All told, more than 6,000 acres east of state Route 895 and south of Charles City Road have been preserved.
“For the community’s sake, there’s a lot for us to learn about where we are right here,” Nelson said at New Market Heights. “Varina is probably one of the most historic places in the country.”
Henrico’s plans to promote its history complement its efforts to attract sports tourism to venues like the Henrico Sports & Events Center, Charity said.
“I always have the saying, sports tourism brings people here, heritage tourism keeps them here,” he said. “What about those families that have younger kids that aren’t in those sports tournaments? What are you doing in between games? How are you keeping people going to the restaurants? Take them to the history sites, take them to the battlefield.”
For the New Market Heights Trail, Charity envisions an interactive experience with QR codes so visitors can listen to recordings that detail the site’s history. They’ll also be able to turn off the trail to view features like Fort 13.
“People can go to those, see signage, do walking tours and have the ability to engage in history at their own pace,” he said.
The remains of Fort 13 and the valor shown by Black troops at New Market Heights highlight how much of southeastern Henrico is untouched and ripe for discovery, Nelson said.
“Many people do not know about the beauty of places like this,” he said. “And we have thousands and thousands and thousands of acres that the county now owns and plans to conserve and preserve over the course of time.”
