Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment served during the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights. Henrico County envisions a new trail project that would commemorate the site of the battle and the 14 Black soldiers who earned Medals of Honor in it.

Henrico and state and federal partners are proposing to build the New Market Heights Trail, a $16 million project that would highlight the area’s history and help the county achieve its conservation goals. 

Local officials introduced the plan, which would create a paved walking path connecting Deep Bottom Park on the James River to New Market Road, at a meeting last week. 

The 3.2-mile trail would feature signage that highlights the area’s Civil War-era history — including markers commemorating the journey of Union soldiers who broke through Confederate defenses at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights in September 1864. 

The Union forces in that battle included three brigades of the U.S. Colored Troops, a military outfit made entirely of Black soldiers — 14 of whom earned Medals of Honor for their actions. 

Chuck Laudner — a consultant with the American Battlefield Trust, one of the organizations partnering with Henrico on the project — stressed the importance of honoring the historic battle site. 

“This place, as much as any, this land communicates what real courage is,” Laudner said at the meeting. “That’s why we’re here to honor them by highlighting and protecting this battlefield ground — to protect the very place where that legacy was forged.” 

Project manager Ryan Levering said the design of the trail has been finalized and funding secured; portions of the project are locally funded, while others will require grant assistance. Henrico hopes to begin construction next year. 

“We’ve been working on this for two years,” Deputy County Manager Steve Yob said during the presentation. “This is a recreational opportunity that will have many facets. It will have history, it will have nature. It goes through a lot of natural areas, wetlands, forest and beautiful, really beautiful areas.” 

Varina Supervisor Tyrone Nelson said the trail — like previous land purchases, including Varina Farms and Wilton Farm — fits into the county’s goal of preserving natural and historic spaces. 

“Here in Varina, we appreciate nature and history. Public access for recreation and education is important,” Nelson said. “These areas will not become office space or retail strip centers or town homes. They will be habitats along the James River.”