American Battlefield Trust

American Battlefield Trust — March 2022

Originally published March 2022 · pp. 12–13

Once-in-a-Lifetime Matching Gift Could Save Slaughter Pen Farm Once and For All! Starting the New Year with a splash, the American Battlefield Trust is on the verge of paying off the largest private battlefield purchase in America’s history, the Slaughter Pen Farm at Fredericksburg. Understanding the significance of the place where the December 1862 engagement was decided, the Trust moved forward to protect this pivotal history with a $12 million deal in 2006. While all available resources were utilized at the time of the transaction, including a federal matching grant and state funding, plus a $1 million commitment from the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, the organization had to take on a loan requiring hefty annual payments. Through the generosity of devoted members, we are down to the final percent of the purchase price. Now, a long-time supporter of the cause is offering to contribute the $800,000 if the Trust can successfully raise its next payment of $400,000 by April 1, meaning the Slaughter Pen Farm would be preserved forever, years ahead of schedule! This represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with a valuable $2to-$1 match on donations. Not just any Virginia farm, this land, on December 13, 1862, would gain its infamous moniker. It is the location where General Robert E. Lee, after scanning the chaos and carnage of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers from his command post, saw the sector of the battlefield and uttered “It is well that war is so terrible; we should grow too fond of it.” Help us save these stories once and for all at www.battlefields. org/SaveSlaughterPen.

Join Forces with the Trust to Protect 245 Acres at Williamsburg The American Battlefield Trust has its eyes set on saving a profound 245-acre property at the Williamsburg Battlefield, known historically as the James Custis farm. While this treasured landscape has a transaction value of $9.2 million, it has been met with immense support. With partners like the federal American Battlefield Protection Program, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States Navy, the Trust is left to raise only $57,000, creating a $163-to-$1 match for every dollar donated. This is a truly historic opportunity and marks the second-largest privatesector transaction in battlefield preservation history! From the 1690s to the mid19th-century, a series of owners held the land as a plantation, and as such it is rich in archaeological resources. In 1861, Confederates built a second defensive line on the Peninsula, with Redoubt No. 11, of 14 in the line, within the property. The Civil War Fortifications Study Group deems it one of the best-preserved early war redoubts in the state. During the spring of 1862, Union forces moved to threaten (Buddy Secor)

the Confederate capital at Richmond from the southeast, with the Battle of Williamsburg as the first pitched battle of this offensive. On May 5, 1862, members of the local enslaved population, who built the works, notified the Union army that two Confederate redoubts were unoccupied, allowing Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock to outflank the Confederate forces. Despite being temporarily pushed back by an attack that swept across this property, Hancock’s

CivilWarNews.com forces were able to reestablish their line around Redoubt 11, repulsing the Confederates and earning the commander his sobriquet “Hancock the Superb.” Following the battle, the Union army used the nearby Custis farm buildings as a field hospital. You can help the Trust save this critical site by visiting www.battlefields.org/ Williamsburg245Acres.

The Trust Launches Its Latest Student Program, Americana U

Striving to spread the study of history across college campuses, the Trust has extended its historysaving mission by launching Americana U. This spring, student leaders at four college campuses will lay the foundation for the peer-to-peer network, encouraging history education and historic site visitation. Americana U will call on campus leaders Ashlyn O’Neill (freshman, Virginia Tech), Daniel

Holt (freshman, University of South Carolina), Kamron Spivey (sophomore, Washington and Lee University) and Owen Lanier (freshman, Gettysburg College) to raise interest in America’s first 100 years through planned events and increased awareness of www. battlefields.org. They will also create opportunities for historic site visitation to connect students with history at the locations where it unfolded. The Americana U program aims to build on the efforts of the Trust’s current student-led program for high schoolers, the Youth Leadership Team, and inspire college students to action. The Trust views positive peer influence as a powerful tool that can redirect the trajectory of the study of history across the country. “Our history teaches us problem solving, moral character, responsibility, a respect for hard work and what can be done with limitless ingenuity, and the dangers of limitless ambition, all things necessary for a thriving and continuous republic,” says Owen Lanier, who will be steering the growth of Americana U at Gettysburg College. Just as his fellow campus leaders plan to do, Lanier will shed light on the vast utility the subject carries. To learn more about this inspiring program, visit www.battlefields. org/americana-u.

Mark Your Calendar for Park Day’s 26th Anniversary For 26 years, the American Battlefield Trust’s Park Day has offered volunteers of all ages nationwide the opportunity to give back to their communities by helping maintain places sacred to our nation’s heritage. Battlefields and historic sites have embraced the hands-on preservation event to meet the needs of upkeep projects large and small, ranging from raking leaves and hauling trash to painting signs and building trails. This means that even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, sites can rally to safely host deeply beneficial Park Day projects, while practicing social distancing or selecting alternative dates as necessary. While the pandemic demands flexibility amidst several unknowns, this year’s nationwide Park Day event is scheduled for April 9, 2022. All sites that wish to be listed on the American Battlefield Trust’s website and receive water bottles must register by March 10, 2022. Individual sites receive support from the Trust, including guidance on promotional tactics, advice on how to secure material donations from local businesses and thank you gifts for volunteers, but have total control of project details. So far, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefields and historic sites across the nation have signed up in hopes of fulfilling necessary projects and look forward to welcoming volunteers. To register your site or find your nearest volunteer opportunity, please visit www. battlefields.org/parkday.

Travels with Darley Traverses South Carolina’s Liberty Trail This past autumn, Darley Newman, Emmy Award– nominated host and producer, ventured to South Carolina to blaze the Liberty Trail, the innovative driving tour the American

Battlefield Trust is developing alongside the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust to highlight the Revolutionary War’s Southern Campaign. The end result of her time exploring Charleston and the surrounding countryside will be a winter 2022 episode of Travels with Darley, which airs nationally on PBS and via streaming platforms. “The state’s brand-new Liberty Trail invites travelers to uncover lesser-known sites and fascinating figures related to the period,” said Newman. “Parks, battlefields, museums, and churches, along with landmarks in Charleston and the Francis Marion National Forest, bring to life key events and people in South Carolina’s 18th-century history that are often overshadowed by the war that unfolded further north.” Check your local listings for when Travels with Darley airs on your PBS affiliate station.