Saving History Saturday: American Battlefield Trust Preservation Projects
The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has several new preservation projects currently active. The most recent project includes land at both Gettysburg, and Second Deep Bottom.
The Gettysburg project is a 20-acre tract located southwest of town where Union cavalry fought Confederate cavalry and infantry while Pickett’s Change was taking place.
This land is adjacent to, as well as across the road from, other tracts that ABT has previously preserved.
At Second Deep Bottom, ABT is working on preserving a 9-acre property. This tract saw serious fighting during a Union thrust towards Richmond. On the Confederate left flank. During the fight, the Union right crumbled, leading to a Confederate victory.
You can learn more about this opportunity here.
ABT is also currently fundraising for their History Field Trip Grant Program. A program that funds field trips to battlefields, as well as other sites, for students, it also provides educators with free access to lesson plans, videos, articles, and guides, among other resources.
This program aims to send at least 12,500 students a year on these field trips for the next eight years. ABT’s fundraising goal for this effort is $40,000, and you can find out more here.
The American Battlefield Trust has multiple preservation projects actively in the fundraising stage. You can learn more about many of them here.
I am hopeful the preservation efforts on the south Cavalry fields lead to more interpretation and education opportunities for this under appreciated part of the battlefield. Too many people bypass its significance on their way to LRT.