Ox Hill Battlefield Park, Chantilly, Va.
Kelly Schneider
Preservation History
Americans' evolving effort to safeguard their battlefields
In 1987, a Civil War academic scholar, five National Park Service historians and two Civil War buffs convened the first meeting of the organization that has grown to become the American Battlefield Trust. But this is just the modern incarnation of work begun before the Revolutionary War had even ended. Learn more about the how efforts to save hallowed ground across the centuries.
Explore Preservation History
Preservation of the Third Day's Battlefield
In the immediate aftermath of the battle, the focus of those who remained in Gettysburg was on tending to the wounded, burying the dead ? and...
What Might Have Been: Chancellorsville, Virginia
There is no better way to get an accurate sense of what the Trust has accomplished in the last 30 years than by examining sites that could have been...
Culpeper in the Crosshairs
Culpeper County, Virginia, saw significant Civil War action with key battles at Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station, marking pivotal moments in...
Saving Brice's Cross Roads
The battle to preserve endangered battlefield land is sometimes a long one. In 1993, when Brice’s Cross Roads was identified as a Priority I, Class B...
Starting a National Movement From Scratch
Two of the founding directors of APCSW — Dr. Gary W. Gallagher and Robert K. Krick, — recall creating APCWS as well as the organization’s earliest...
New Book Chronicles Thirty-Year Struggle to Save America’s Civil War Battlefields
In commemoration of its 30th anniversary, a new book explores the work of the Civil War Trust – the most successful nonprofit battlefield preservation...