Henrico officials, partners celebrate planned New Market Heights Trail in Varina

Henrico officials Tuesday afternoon joined a group of partners from state and federal organizations to commemorate the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of New Market Heights by celebrating the planned construction of the 3.2-mile New Market Heights Trail.

The trail, whose planning began three years ago, will stretch from Deep Bottom Park along the James River to Four Mile Creek Park near the interchange of Route 5 and I-295, traversing the battlefield along the way.

Deep Bottom is where about 10,000 Union troops (including Brig. Gen. Charles J. Paine’s Third Division of the XVIII Corps, composed entirely of U.S. Colored Troops) quietly stepped off pontoon boats during the overnight hours of Sept. 28-29, in preparation for what would become a bloody attack on a Confederate position nearby hours later.

The Battle of New Market Heights – which ultimately resulted in the capture of New Market Heights from the Confederate Army by Union troops – was arguably the most consequential in the Civil War for U.S. Colored Troops, who suffered about 800 casualties from their ranks of 3,800 men in the battle.

Of the 16 U.S. Colored Troops who earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, 14 were recognized for their bravery at New Market Heights.

Deep Bottom also is where county officials Tuesday joined representatives from the American Battlefield Trust, the National Park Service, the Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association to explain the meaning of the coming trail, which generally will follow the path north from the river taken by the Union troops.

Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas speaks during an event at Deep Bottom Park in Varina celebrating the planned New Market Heights Trail Sept. 29, 2026. (Courtesy Henrico County)

“This is a day of enormous importance, to the commonwealth and to the country,” said Henrico Deputy County Manger for Community Operations Steve Yob, who has spearheaded efforts to bring the idea of the trail to life. “It shows what can happen when we put aside our differences and focus more on our shard responsibility to protect and preserve for our future generations.”

Along the trail’s path are about 1,600 acres of contiguous, conserved land, Yob said.

“The trail’s going to give visitors a great opportunity – not just for history, but for nature and for the opportunity to get outside. This trail will unite people around a central idea.”

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson agreed.

“This is about much more than just building a trail,” he said. “It’s about conserving a landscape that tells many many fascinating stories, it’s about the United States Colored Troops who fought here, it’s about the Battle of New Market Heights and the people whose courage changed the course of American people. It’s about the indigenous peoples who lived along the James right behind us. It’s about the encounters between Capt. John Smith and Pocahontas, which are a part of the much bigger story not just of the river but the region.”

Officials intend to begin building the trail, estimated to cost about $21 million, sometime next year and complete it in five phases by 2030. At Tuesday’s event, county officials praised the efforts of the Richmond District representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, Rex Davis, who helped secure $2.5 million in funding from the CTB for the trail earlier this year.

“This is a project that preserves history and connects people to this landscape,” Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas said of the trail. “I’m incredibly proud of what happens when organizations and people come together around a shared purpose.”

Renderings of a proposed monument to the U.S. Colored Troops who fought in the Battle of New Market Heights that could be located along New Market Road near the northern terminus of the New Market Heights Trail. (Courtesy the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association)

For more than a quarter-century, the United States Code has mandated the construction of a monument to honor the bravery of U.S. Colored Troops who fought at the Battle of New Market Heights. But funding for such a monument – directed by the code to come from the National Park Service – has not come.

In recent years, the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial Association formed and began raising money for a monument that it estimates will cost about $8.54 million.