Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, on the north side of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

, opposite

Drewry's Bluff Drewry's Bluff is located in northeastern Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the United States. It was the site of Confederate Fort Darling during the American Civil War. It was named for a local landowner, Confederate Captain Augustus H. Drewry, ...

, long-considered a major defense point of the river below

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

. 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, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

History

A Union attempt to take Richmond by water by the

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

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 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. Four Union Navy warships, inclu ...

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 Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

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, 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 Fort Darling (Drewry's Fort, Drewry's Bluff) was a Confederate military installation during the American Civil War located at Drewry's Bluff, a high point of 80–100 feet overlooking a bend in the James River south of Richmond in Chesterfield ...

unit of the

Richmond National Battlefield Park The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city wit ...

. 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 sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became ...

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 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 County is inc ...

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 in the American Civil War Virginia in the American Civil War Landforms of Henrico County, Virginia Hills of Virginia