Help Save 132 Acres at Three Historic Battlefields

The Opportunity

These battlefields were the scenes of three of the largest attacks of the Civil War. Now, the battlefields themselves are under attack — and threatened by development.

132 acres on three battlefields — New Market Heights, Petersburg, Fort Blakeley — are now ready to be preserved forever. The total cost to purchase and preserve these lands is $1.67 million. Fortunately, thanks to grants and partners and a gift from one generous landowner, every dollar raised will be multiplied by 11!

Men fought for these lands. Men died for these acres. Will you give today to help save them?

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The History

35 Acres at Chaffin’s Farm, New Market Heights

The 35-acre tract is adjacent to the Richmond National Battlefield Park and was a Union attack field during the battle.

In late September 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant decided to strike General Robert E. Lee’s supply lines at Petersburg, Virginia. To divert Lee’s attention from that front, Grant feigned an attack on Richmond.

General Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James crossed its namesake, the James River, to assault the Richmond defenses. After initial Union successes on both fronts, including the capture of Fort Harrison, the Confederates rallied and contained the breakthrough. Lee reinforced his lines north of the James and attempted to recapture the fort on September 30, in an unsuccessful counterattack.

The Federals entrenched, and the Confederates erected a new line of works cutting off the captured forts. As Grant anticipated, Lee shifted some 10,000 troops to meet the new threat against Richmond, weakening his lines west of Petersburg.

To this day, the actions at Chaffin’s Farm serve as an important reminder that the consequences of even a single battle play a larger role in the eventual outcome of the war.  

Just one month before, President Lincoln had been anticipating his own defeat in the 1864 election. The Union victory at Chaffin’s Farm, bolstered by the heroic efforts of U.S. Colored Troops (14 of whom were presented the Congressional Medal of Honor), was among the victories that fall that helped Lincoln win reelection, which changed the course of American history.

Nine Acres at Petersburg (The Breakthrough)

Many have called this battle “The Confederate Alamo.” The action proved to be desperate and futile on the Confederate side, ultimately leading to the fall of Richmond and Petersburg.

In April 1865, after more than 290 days of siege, the city of Petersburg fell when the Union Sixth Corps successfully breached Confederate lines held by Confederate General A.P. Hill, whose death site lies just a few miles from the tract we’re working to protect today.

The Breakthrough at Petersburg remains one of the most consequential attacks of the Civil War because it resulted directly in the fall of Petersburg and the Confederate capital at Richmond.

Although we’ve conserved over 400 acres at Petersburg with your help, there is still hallowed ground on this major battlefield that is not fully and permanently protected. The nine acres we are working together to save now came up on the market within the last year, zoned for industrial development and warehouses!

Help protect this hallowed ground from that fate. The Trust will even save the land beneath the original 18th-century dwelling so our nonprofit partners can continue to operate it as a visitors’ center. But we need your help to make that happen!

88 Acres at Fort Blakeley

The Union troops included one of the largest contingents of African American soldiers to fight in any Civil War battle.

The ink was still drying on the terms of surrender Robert E. Lee was signing at Appomattox when the attack took place. Men who had little left to fight for were still fighting with every ounce of their strength and spirit.

It was a huge attack (and a massive mismatch), with more than 16,000 Federal troops storming fortified positions held by only about 3,500 Confederates, desperately trying to hold their ground so others could escape.

Miraculously, the earthworks they built are still intact on this tract. But maybe not for much longer. You see, this is waterfront property and it’s coveted by developers. It’s also the last and largest undeveloped tract at the battlefield, adjacent to 126 acres you’ve already helped to preserve.

The Union victory at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm played a role in Lincoln’s reelection in 1864. The Breakthrough may have been the most consequential attack of the Civil War, leading directly to the fall of Richmond.

The Battle for Fort Blakeley was the last combined-force battle of the Civil War, leading to the fall of the fourth-largest city in the Southern Confederacy.

Help Save 132 Acres at Three Battlefields

As each of these three engagements makes so clear, all battles have consequences. The more we study them, the more we learn.

Today, we must also consider the consequences of inaction. Over the last 160 years, literally thousands of battlefield acres have been lost, developed, and destroyed. Today, homes and warehouses sit on places where soldiers fought and died, highways pierce fields and forests where history was made, and pressures continue to mount to bulldoze and build on the battlefield acres we have left.

Help save 132 acres at three historic battlefields facing urgent threats and have your gift matched $11-to-$1!

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