Saving History Saturday: Preservation Projects

This month Saving History Saturday is looking at some current battlefield preservation projects.

The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has several preservation projects ongoing. One of the most recent ones is to preserve 128 acres at Antietam and Shepherdstown. This consists of a six-acre tract in Sharpsburg near the West Woods and Dunker Church. The property currently has modern structures on it. This purchase fills in a donut-hole surrounded by already preserved land on all sides.

The second property is a 122-acre tract near Shepherdstown that saw fighting in the days immediately after Antietam. This undeveloped land is adjacent to already preserved land.
ABT is currently raising $343,837 to save these two important pieces of Maryland battlefield. The learn more, click here.

The Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT) is currently raising $100,000 for preserving part of Stonewall Jackson’s Flank Attack at Chancellorsville.

This includes finishing CVBT’s commitment to ABT for their share on the 42-acre Dowdall’s Tavern parcel, the location of the Buschbeck Line, as well as two new acres to the east that CVBT’s calling the Stonewall Brigade III tract. This new parcel is located next to their original Stonewall Brigade tracts. This is land that the Union XI Corps retreated across on May 2, 1863 and the area where the Stonewall Brigade spent the night before continuing the attack on May 3rd. Click here to learn more.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation (SVBF) currently has an active preservation campaign at New Market. SVBF is working to save Manor’s Hill. This 5-acre parcel is key to opening access to more than 175 acres of the New Market battlefield that SVBF has previously preserved to the public. They are looking to raise $130,000 to make the purchase. The site is also home to a military museum, which makes the site ready-made to be for a visitor contact station. For more information about this project, click here.

These are just a few of the current preservation organizations and active projects that they have going on. In coming months, we will continue to look at all aspects of preservation, saving and telling the story of Civil War history.