Near Goochland in Goochland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Dahlgren's Cavalry Raid

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 26, 2009

1. Dahlgren's Cavalry Raid Marker

Inscription. In February 1864 a young Union officer, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, joined with Brig. Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick to raid Richmond and free Federal prisoners of war. They planned for Kilpatrick's men to attack the city's northern defenses while Dahlgren would lead his men through Goochland County, cross the James River, and enter the city from the south. A local African American, Martin Robinson escorted the troopers to a nearby ford but the water was too high to cross. Suspecting trickery, Dahlgren hanged him near here on 1 March, and then attacked the city from the west. Defeated, he rode east in search of Kilpatrick and was killed the next day in King and Queen County.

Erected 2001 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number SA-27.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1864.

Location. 37° 35.169′ N, 77° 38.16′ W. Marker is near Goochland, Virginia, in Goochland County. It is on River Road 0.1 miles west of Hillpoint Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Henrico VA 23238, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Central Virginia,

and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles

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of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Tuckahoe (approx. one mile away); Boston (approx. 1.9 miles away); Bellona Foundry (approx. 2½ miles away); Westhampton Settlement Subdivision (approx. 3.1 miles away); Tommy Edwards (approx. 3½ miles away); The Heath Gravity Railroad (approx. 3½ miles away); Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill, CSA (approx. 3½ miles away); Terre Haute Farm African American Cemetery (approx. 3.7 miles away).

Dahlgren's Cavalry Raid Marker on River Road (facing east) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, April 26, 2009

2. Dahlgren's Cavalry Raid Marker on River Road (facing east)

Col. Ulric Dahlgren image. Click for full size.

Internet Archive

3. Col. Ulric Dahlgren

From Souvenir of the Washington trip of Dahlgren Post 2, G. A. R. Reunion 1892.

Kilpatrick's raid to Richmond image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Edwin Forbes, 1864

4. Kilpatrick's raid to Richmond

Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsca-22557]

Credits. This page was last revised on November 15, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,585 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 27, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on November 15, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 4. submitted on March 22, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.