Civil War Tours
“1981-2021: 40 Years of Saving the Past for the Future"
Chesterfield Historical Society
of Virginia
Bermuda Hundred Campaign
To help save historic Point of Rocks Civil War site, please donate. Bermuda Hundred Campaign Battle Animations are available here. Go here for Battle Animations
Chesterfield County contains 11 parks sites associated with the Civil War. Each of these sites has its own unique story to tell. Collectively, these “links in a chain” tell the larger story of one of the most important military campaigns of the war but seldom told.
Chesterfield County Civil War Notables
After the start of
the war, Thomas O. Osborn became
the lieutenant colonel of the 39th Illinois
Infantry on October 11, 1861, and was
promoted to colonel the following year on
January 1. He led the regiment in several
campaigns and battles. His command saw
action in the 1862 Valley
Campaign against Confederate forces under Lt.
Gen. Thomas
Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, participating
in the Battle of Port Republic on June 9.
From July until September 1863, Osborn took
part in Union operations against Charleston,
South Carolina, including attacks on Fort
Wagner and Fort Sumter. In 1864, Osborn
commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division of
the XXIV Corps of the Army of the James,
Osborn was badly wounded at the Battle of
Drewry's Bluff on May 14, 1864, when a
musket ball shattered his right elbow and
lodged in his arm. He stayed in the hospital
until September before being released for
duty. In December, he had recovered enough
to report for duty. However, he suffered
from ankylosis of the injured elbow for the
rest of his life.
During the Siege
of Petersburg in
1864 into 1865, Osborn led a brigade in the
XXIV Corps. He was brevetted to the rank
of brigadier general on March 10, 1865
Built in May 1864 and
first named Fort Howlett, the battery was
renamed after Colonel Olin M. Dantzler who
was killed June 2, 1864 in an attempt to
capture Fort Dutton. Leading the 22nd South
Carolina Infantry Regiment the attack
failed. Battery Dantzler, a
Confederate battery, was constructed to stop
Union naval forces from advancing up the
James River. By January 1865, it
was armed with two 10" columbiads, one 7"
Brooke rifle and one 10" mortar. It was
manned by the Johnston Artillery under
Captain B.J. Epes. The battery was abandoned
April 2, 1865.
Clarissa
(Claraa) Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 –
April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who
founded the American Red Cross. She was a
hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a
teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing
education was not then very formalized and
she did not attend nursing school, she
provided self-taught nursing care.
Barton
is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work
and civil rights advocacy at a time before
women had the right to vote. In 1864,
she was appointed by Union General Benjamin
Butler as the "lady in charge" of the
hospitals at the front of the Army of the
James. Among her more harrowing experiences
was an incident in which a bullet tore
through the sleeve of her dress without
striking her and killed a man to whom she
was tending. She was known as the "Florence
Nightingale of America". She was also known
as the "Angel of the Battlefield"
Help Save Chesterfield County's Rich History
"C.
1860 Summerseat" - According
to tradition, this 19th century
house was used by a county magistrate as the
“seat” of his court during summer months due
to the muddy and rutted roads which made
travel to the courthouse in the center of
the county almost impossible. The
lower brick portion of the house was the
“jail” or “detention center, complete with
bars that held prisoners or those persons
awaiting trial. It is
not a large building at 18 by 16 feet. The
house is part of Virginia State University.
C. 1879 Trinity Church - The old church sits in a stand of a few trees not quite visible from Krause Road but adjacent to Ironbridge Road where it is plainly noticeable. It offers an unobstructed view at that corner. Not so vacant any longer and no longer a huge storage shed for odds and ends, it serves a new purpose in its longevity of survival. It is alive with activity once again. Presently, the Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia is utilizing the building as its headquarters and library until historic Castlewood is renovated. Historic Castlewood, ca. 1817-1819, sits nearby to the church just across Krause Road and was once the parsonage for the Methodist.
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Summer Camps for Children