Saving History Saturday: American Battlefield Trust 2023 Year in Review
In 2023, the American Battlefield Trust (ABT) saved 2,088 acres, on 29 battlefields, across 11 states.
Working with their preservation partners and landowners, ABT completed 49 transactions in 2023. Included in this is 117 acres at Buffington Island where the largest battle in Ohio took place during the Civil War. Confederate Maj. Gen. John Hunt Morgan led 1,800 troops against Union Gen. Edward Hobson’s 3,000 men, suffering heavy losses. Morgan suffered heavy losses and eventually surrendered his remaining forces 8 days later near Salineville, Ohio.
Other high profile preservation projects include the Jacob Avey Farm and House at Antietam, the remainder of the former Gettysburg Country Club along the Chambersburg Pike, which saw heavy fighting on the first day at Gettysburg, and the launching of the 4th phase of the ongoing preservation of Gaines Mill/Cold Harbor.
The Trust has also been involved in advocacy efforts. In May, they filed suit in Orange County, Virginia against the Wilderness Crossing project. A proposed 2,600 acre residential, commercial, and industrial development near the Wilderness Battlefield. They have also been actively involved in efforts against data center projects adjacent to the Manassas Battlefield, among other development threats.
To learn more about ABT’s ongoing preservation battles, successes, as well as educational and advocacy work, visit their website at battlefields.org.
I look forward to ABT’s work to restore and interpret the land formerly housing General Pickett’s Buffet and the land west of Willoughby’s Run in Gettysburg.