“Preservationists like Parker Agelasto, Executive Director of the Capital Region Land Conservancy, saw a golden opportunity.
“The vista you see behind me is what you would call pristine,“ Agelasto said. “If we lose this, what you’re going to see is that there is a big doughnut hole in an area of conservation.”
Eastern Henrico is dotted with Civil War sites, but historians rank New Market Heights as one of the rarest.
“There are a number of battlefields in which the U.S. Colored Troops fought,” Agelasto said. “But there is none in which they had such victory.”
It was on this spot, on September 29, 1864, U.S. Colored Troops of the Union Army etched their names in history books. Hundreds of Black soldiers fought and died here while storming Confederate earthworks under withering fire.”
This article was shared from an article by Greg McQuade published by WTVR on May 14, 2022. Continue reading at WTVR.