Fort Harrison was an important component of the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 defenses of Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

s that extended from New Market Road

Virginia State Route 5

State Route 5 runs between the independent cities of Richmond and Williamsburg in the U.S. state of Virginia. Between Charles City County and James City County, it crosses the Chickahominy River via the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge, a fixed-span bridge which replaced historic Barrett's Ferry and...

 to the James River

James River (Virginia)

The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...

 that also included Forts Hoke, Johnson, Gregg, and Gilmer. These earthworks were designed to protect the strategically important Chaffin's Bluff

Chaffin's Bluff

Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, along the James River. Chaffin's Bluff on the north side of the river opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond...

 on the James.

On September 29, 1864, 2,500 Union soldiers

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 from Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Benjamin Butler

Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)

Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....

's Army of the James

Army of the James

The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...

 overran Major Richard Cornelius Taylor's 200-man Confederate garrison and captured the fort in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm

Battle of Chaffin's Farm

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought September 29–30, 1864, as part of the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...

. Brig. Gen.

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Hiram Burnham

Hiram Burnham

Hiram Burnham was an officer in the Union Army who commanded a regiment and then a brigade in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War...

, a native of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 and a brigade commander in XVIII Corps

XVIII Corps (ACW)

XVIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.- Origins and makeup :The XVIII Corps was created on December 24, 1862, and initially composed of five divisions stationed in North Carolina, making it one of the largest in the Union Army , placed under the command of General...

, was killed in the assault, and the Union-held fort was renamed Fort Burnham in his honor.

Although the attacks of September 29 had succeeded in capturing only Fort Harrison, General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

 saw the potential threat to Richmond and ordered a counterattack on September 30. The attack failed, but Brig. Gen. George J. Stannard

George J. Stannard

George Jerrison Stannard was a Vermont farmer, teacher, and Union general in the American Civil War. After the war, he served as Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives.-Early life:...

 lost an arm while resisting Lee's assault. This failure forced the Confederates to realign their defenses farther west. Fort Burnham remained in Union hands until the end of the war.

In 1930, members of the Richmond Parks Corporation, a local preservation society, constructed a log cabin on the site to serve as their headquarters. Today, this building serves as the Fort Harrison visitor center, part of Richmond National Battlefield Park

Richmond National Battlefield Park

Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates more than 30 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for the majority of the war...

.