Another 49-acre parcel of a Civil War battlefield in Eastern Henrico County in which Black troops played a major role is now protected from development.

The Capital Region Land Conservancy announced that it has purchased a new section of the New Market Heights battlefield with state and federal grants that seek to protect significant military sites from the war.

According to the conservancy, property located just east of Interstate 295 and south of New Market Road or Virginia Route 5, includes an 800-foot segment of earthworks that were part of the Confederate defense line that came under attack from elements of the U.S. Colored Troops.

The earthworks are located about a third of a mile west of the point at which the Colored Troops charged and broke through the Confederate lines despite having one of three men killed or wounded.

Fourteen Black soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor during the battle, the largest number awarded to Black soldiers during the Civil War.

“Saving this hallowed ground is important to the descendants of U.S.C.T. members who fought at New Market Heights,” said Damon Radcliffe, whose great-great-grandfather, Sgt. Major Edward Ratcliff, was among the Medal of Honor recipients.

“Being able to visit and walk the land where my ancestor and thousands of Black men fought for their freedom is a powerful experience,” Mr. Radcliffe said.

“This portion of New Market Heights Battlefield is part of a remarkable historic landscape,” said L. Preston Bryant Jr., board president of the conservancy, in announcing the purchase.

The conservancy bought the property from the heirs of Frederic Albert Dabney and his daughter, Florence Dabney Haskins, who had owned and occupied it since 1937.

In the wake of the purchase, the conservancy, Henrico County and the American Battlefield Trust now own more than 300 acres of the New Market Heights battlefield, or 15 percent of the 2,000 acres that the National Park Service has identified as being part of this fight.

The conservancy also has been involved in protecting hundreds of acres of nearby land that was part of several other battles that occurred in this section of the county in 1864.