Fort Harrison stood in 1864 as the most powerful fort in Richmond’s extensive outer defenses, built on high, open ground with surrounding entrenchments to protect the approaches to Richmond from the south. The strongest Union probe toward Richmond from this direction came on September 29, when General Butler’s Army of the James crossed the river in two columns and struck the defenses here and at New Market Heights to the east. Union troops captured both positions, but could not make further progress against the smaller fortifications at Fort Gilmer, Fort Gregg, Fort Johnson, and Fort Hoke. Confederate counterattacks the next day failed to recover the lost ground and produced a stalemate that lasted until Richmond was evacuated in April 1865. Although these Federal operations did not immediately capture Richmond, the permanent presence of Northern soldiers so close to the capital helped force an extension of the Confederate lines. The fall of Fort Harrison led to more fighting, including three separate October battles along Darbytown Road north of here, which increased pressure on Richmond’s defenses and kept the armies active in this area until the decisive events of the following spring.
