Battery Dantzler

Battery Dantzler. . , Confederate forces began construction of this earthen fort known as Battery Dantzler on May 18, 1864. The Confederates occupied this position after the Battle of Ware Bottom Church. In that action, Union Major General Benjamin F. Butler's Army of the James was pushed back to their prepared positions in Bermuda Hundred one mile to the east. The fort was constructed to stop the Union Navy from advancing up the James River to Richmond. On April 2, 1865 Battery Dantzler was abandoned and it's occupants marched west where they surrendered along with the rest of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox., This park was established in 1992 with a donation of 1.2 acres from Air Products Corporation. An additional 14 acres was added in 2014 through the efforts of the Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia, and the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation., This property is part of the Ware Bottom Church Battlefield and was preserved with the help of a Federal Grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund administered by the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program., Preservation of this land was also made possible by a generous donation from Walter and Rosie Goyne who owned the property until 2014. The Goyne family owned most of the land surrounding Battery Dantzler for over 100 years after the Civil War.