Chancellorsville Battlefield, Va.
Help Save 64 Acres at Four Virginia Battlefields
The Opportunity
Help save nearly 64 acres of hallowed ground at four battlefields in Virginia, where development pressures are at an all-time high. One tract is at Chancellorsville, two tracts are at First and Second Kernstown and the last is at Ware Bottom Church.
The total value of this land is a whopping $2.2 million. But fortunately, the Trust secured more than 97% of the funds through donations and matching grants. All we need now is to raise the final $60,000 to secure land that helped shape our nation.
The History
18 Battlefield Acres at Chancellorsville
This tract is associated with “Jackson’s Flank Attack,” one of the most famous battlefield maneuvers of the Civil War!
In late April 1863, General Joseph Hooker hoped to turn General Robert E. Lee out of his position at Fredericksburg. On April 27, Hooker marched three corps northwest from his winter encampment to Kelly’s Ford on the Rappahannock, then crossed the Rapidan behind Lee’s forces at Germanna and Ely’s Fords. Union infantry marched past the tract along the Orange Turnpike on April 30 before arriving at the Chancellorsville crossroads. And these 18 acres were right in the heart of the action that followed!
The next night, Lee decided to divide his command. He dispatched General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Second Corps on a march around the front of Hooker’s army to attack the Army of the Potomac’s right flank. Jackson’s men got underway the following morning. After a twelve-mile march, Jackson deployed his infantry and at 5:15 p.m. gave the order to advance. During the assault, regiments from at least three Confederate brigades, those of General Alfred Colquitt, General George Doles, and Colonel Edward T.H. Warren, advanced over the tract. It’s even possible this tract was used to treat the wounded.
Our plans include not only saving this land but restoring it to its wartime appearance. But there are others who have very different plans for this region. Chancellorsville faces the immediate and urgent threat of residential development, which could mean hundreds of new units built directly over hallowed ground and thousands of cars crossing over it daily.
40 Acres at Kernstown – A Rare Double Battlefield!
These two parcels witnessed the First Battle of Kernstown in 1862, a Union victory and part of Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and then again during the Second Battle of Kernstown in 1864, a Confederate victory and part of Jubal Early’s Raid and Operations against the B&O Railroad.
The Battle of First Kernstown took place in the spring of 1862, after Union General George McClellan had launched an offensive against the Confederate capital of Richmond. General Stonewall Jackson, stationed in the Shenandoah Valley, received the task of keeping Union forces in that sector from reinforcing McClellan’s army, and set out to engage the Federals near Winchester. On the morning of March 23, the two forces collided outside Kernstown.
Troops from Virginia and Ohio are known to have crossed the 40-acre tract we have the chance to save today. And troops from these states saw action again during the Battle of Second Kernstown two years later, making this land doubly important.
We’ve saved 388 acres at Kernstown already, with your help, and these additional 40 acres will nearly complete our work here, helping to secure the integrity of this twice-consecrated battlefield land. I’d be so grateful to have your help.
Six Acres at Ware Bottom Church
In May of 1864, nearly 10,000 soldiers under the commands of General Benjamin Butler and General Pierre G.T. Beauregard clashed violently here, with more than 1,400 brave men left dead or wounded.
The church itself is long gone, having been behind both Union and Confederate lines during battle. It was destroyed by Parker’s Virginia Battery (part of the Confederate Howlett line), defended by troops from the city of Richmond who were targeting Union sharpshooters inside.
But the land remains! It’s heavily wooded and largely undisturbed. Yet it’s been zoned for light industrial, which means it has the data center developers salivating. Who can say how soon that might happen if we don’t do our duty to preserve it now?
Help Save 64 Acres at Four Virginia Battlefields
By raising $60,000 now, we can save these battlefield tracts before the developers can get their hands on them, and your support will be matched by $37-to-$1!
