CWPT Purchases Another 173 Acres At Bentonville Battlefield
By Deborah Fitts
(August 2008 Civil War News)

BENTONVILLE, N.C. — The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) has bought 173 acres at Bentonville Battlefield. The acquisition, totaling $772,500, brings to 953 acres the amount of land at North Carolina’s largest battlefield that has been protected by the Trust’s efforts.

CWPT spokesman Jim Campi said the buy, concluded in March, included six parcels, not contiguous, that range in size from 1.6 acres to 52 acres. They mostly comprise rolling farmland with a few farm structures.

The Trust has mounted a campaign to raise funds for the purchase. Although the price was $772,500, CWPT secured several matching grants through the federal Civil War Battlefield Protection Program and the State of North Carolina. As a result, the Trust is left with just 13 percent of the total to raise, or just under $100,000.

In a prepared statement, Trust President Jim Lighthizer commented, “Finding creative and effective ways to leverage our members’ contributions is critical to CWPT’s success. In this instance, we are multiplying each dollar donated more than seven-fold and allowing even the most modest gift to make a real tangible benefit to the preservation of our American heritage.”

With its proximity to interstates 95 and 40, Bentonville has long been regarded by preservationists as vulnerable to development.

CWPT has been working to protect land at the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site since 1990. Today the state owns more than 1,100 acres. Campi said the newly acquired parcels will eventually be turned over to the battlefield park.

The battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, is often regarded as the Confederate army’s famed “last stand in the Carolinas.” It occurred as Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston took the offensive against Gen. William T. Sherman, who had turned north to the Carolinas after taking Atlanta and completing his infamous March to the Sea.

Bentonville represented the last time a major Confederate army in the field was able to mount an offensive.

The battle was fought across more than 6,000 acres, the single largest encounter in the Tar Heel State. The two armies suffered combined casualties of 4,500, with Confederate ranks suffering the most losses.

The Confederate defeat at Bentonville, coupled with the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House April 9, led Johnston to surrender his army near Durham, N.C., on April 22, effectively bringing the war to an end.

Donations may be sent to the CWPT at 1331 H St. NW, Suite 1001, Washington, DC 20005 or made through www.civilwar.org.