This Day in Henrico History: Oct. 13 – Union attack repulsed at Darbytown Road in 1864

On October 13, 1864, Union troops moved toward Confederate defenses east of Richmond and fought what became known as the Battle of Darbytown Road. The engagement was part of the larger Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, when federal forces were trying to threaten the Confederate capital and stretch its defensive lines.

The National Park Service describes the day’s fighting as largely a battle of skirmishers. Federal soldiers probed the newly established Confederate line, and a Union brigade assaulted fortifications north of Darbytown Road. The attack failed, with heavy Union casualties.

After the repulse, Union troops withdrew to their entrenched positions along New Market Road. The National Park Service classifies the October 13 engagement as a Confederate victory and estimates 487 casualties, including 437 Union and 50 Confederate casualties. Those figures are estimates rather than a definitive count of deaths.

The October 13 battle should not be confused with another nearby engagement on October 7, called the Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads, or the later fighting at Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road. All were parts of the autumn campaign around Richmond, but they occurred on different dates and had different immediate outcomes.

Today the roads and place names in eastern Henrico preserve the geography of a contested landscape. The battle illustrates how close the fighting remained to Richmond in the final months of 1864, even as the war’s main armies remained entrenched around the city and Petersburg.

Sources: https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=va078; https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battles-detail.htm?battleCode=va077