Chickahominy Bluff: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Richmond National Battlefield Landscape
Sams C. 2026. Chickahominy Bluff: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Richmond National Battlefield Landscape. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 300099. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
Chickahominy Bluff is one of twelve units of Richmond National Battlefield Park (NBP) in Virginia. The park preserves, protects, interprets, and commemorates Richmond Civil War battlefield landscapes, struggles for the capital of the Confederacy associated with the 1862 Seven Days’ Battles, the 1864 Overland Campaign, and the 1884-1865 Richmond and Petersburg Campaigns, including the American military, social, and political history as exemplified by the New Market Heights Battlefield. The site became part of the park in 1960. Chickahominy Bluff served as Robert E. Lee’s headquarters during the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek on June 26, 1862. The bluff was an ideal location for Lee to oversee the military maneuvers and to coordinate his attack, which was his first military engagement as the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of his plan, the delay of General Stonewall Jackson’s troops, and the breakdown of communication, Lee’s experience at Chickahominy Bluff was a frustrating one. The 39-acre Chickahominy Bluff property is located northeast of Richmond, Virginia, just south of the Chickahominy River. It includes earthen fieldworks, visitor parking, and a short pedestrian trail that leads to a shortened view from the bluff. Visitor access to most of the property has been restricted to protect the resource from vandalism. Maintained lawns with scattered trees in the visitor areas transition to woodlands that protect the earthworks.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Sams, Cheryl
- Date of Issue
- 2026
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NER , RICH
- Keywords
- Archeology, Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, Battle Site, Battles In The North And South, Conservation, defense, Earthworks, Engineering, General Robert E. Lee, historic site, Military, Richmond, Seven Days' Battle, The Civil War, Virginia