![Photograph of a cannon with a vibrant sunset in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/landing_page_hero/public/thumbnails/image/celebrate-victories-hero-cannon-2_0.jpg?h=53bd2a4d&itok=ZBRXbYq2)
Gaines Mill, Virginia.
Celebrate Our Victories
Together, we have saved more than 58,000 acres of battlefield land in 25 states, including historic properties at Antietam, Bentonville, Chancellorsville, Chattanooga, Gettysburg, Manassas, Princeton, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Wilson’s Creek, the Wilderness and more. Celebrate our recent victories.
Recent Victories
160th Anniversary: 53 Acres Saved Forever at Reams’ Station and Deep Bottom
The summer of 1864 saw some of the most brutal and determined fighting of the Civil War, with now seasoned soldiers and generals resolute to bring the conflict to its end. As steadfast as the armies stood, so have we. Thanks to you, 160 years later, we can commemorate that summer of ’64 with 53 acres preserved forever associated with two of its notable battles, Reams’ Station and Second Deep Bottom.
Demolished! Post-War Farmhouse at Slaughter Pen Farm Is Gone
Slaughter Pen Farm’s last modern structure, a postwar farmhouse, is now gone! After many long years, on Friday, July 26, the structure was demolished! Removal of the house is the final phase of a complex restoration process that has cleared numerous non-historic structures from the landscape over the past decade and a half, clearing the way for a new interpretive plaza and restoration of the landscape to its 1862 appearance. We couldn’t be more excited for that, and we thank YOU for your hard work, patience and generous giving that has made this moment possible. The acquisition of the Slaughter Pen Farm on the Fredericksburg battlefield in 2006 was a landmark purchase for the American Battlefield Trust. Not only was the $12 million purchase price the highest, by far, in Trust history, but the acquisition was the most complex we had ever attempted.
Culpeper Battlefields State Park is Here!
Dedicated on June 8, 2024, in a ceremony with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and other dignitaries, Culpeper Battlefields State Park will be comprised of more than 2,200 acres of land preserved as the sites of the Civil War battles of Brandy Station, Cedar Mountain, Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station.
The story of Brandy Station Battlefield alone, from one of the nation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 1993 to the Commonwealth’s 43rd state park this summer, is the stuff of preservation legend and a victory like no other we have declared! It’s the culmination of more than 40 years of hard work by so many partners, donors, members, staff and insightful lawmakers who embraced our vision and helped bring it to reality.
Victory Week Continues: Celebrating Essential Sites Saved at Gettysburg and Beyond
During its fourth annual Victory Week, which falls squarely within Historic Preservation Month, the Trust announced an impressive round-up of recent preservation victories. Composed of four battlefields in three states, the 2024 Victory Week declaration covers nearly 40 historic acres protected by the nation’s premier battlefield land preservation organization, including crucial sites in Gettysburg associated with Pickett’s Charge and the first hallowed ground saved at Chickasaw Bayou.
Victory at Chancellorsville! Iconic Battlefield Site Saved
It’s no secret that land on and near where the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville raged in Virginia is often threatened by new developments, which is why we’re especially pleased to tell you we’ve had a big win in the area: as a result of and with your help, can now declare victory on nearly 44 acres of land associated with an iconic site at the Flank Attack during the Battle of Chancellorsville, including land associated with the original Chancellor plantation and Dowdall’s Tavern.
Big Win at Corinth!
Sometimes big things come in small packages! We asked for your help saving a little more than 400 acres across four sacred battlefields of the Western Theater. The smallest parcel of ground included just six-tenths of an acre in Corinth, Miss.— a small plot of land that played a big role in the Battle of Corinth. Located literally across the street from the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, it was our hope to purchase the land, steward it and transfer it to the National Park Service for incorporation into the Corinth Battlefield Unit of Shiloh National Military Park. With the help of our members and donors, we’ve done just that!
Restoration Victories! Hallowed Ground Restored at Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain and Eutaw Springs
Our mission is to “Preserve. Educate. Inspire.” So, it’s not enough to just save battlefield land, we want to use it to teach and inspire future generations. In order to do that, we sometimes have to restore the landscape. We can’t just acquire lands that have been compromised and corrupted by decades of neglect and development and leave them as they are. We have to restore hallowed ground. With the help of our members, donors and partner organizations we have done that at these locations in Gettysburg, at Lookout Mountain and at Eutaw Springs.
Antietam Triumph!
As we commemorate the more than 22,000 casualties of the September 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam, 161 years ago on America’s Bloodiest Day, the American Battlefield Trust announced its latest victories which save nearly 150 acres of battlefield land associated with the Maryland Campaign, including the Jacob Avey Farm, some of Antietam’s most hallowed ground, and the historic farmhouse where the Avey family lived. The victory also includes six additional acres of battlefield land at Antietam, originally part of the historic Reel Farm, and 122 acres of pristine land associated with the Battle of Shepherdstown.
Theater of War: Marking a Milestone with 144 Acres Saved at Bentonville
Our most recent victory of 144 acres saved at Bentonville, North Carolina, marks a new kind of milestone for us. With the now completed transfer of that land to the state and its incorporation into the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, the Trust, with the help of our members and partners, has saved more than 2,000 acres of battlefield land at Bentonville, the most acres saved at any battlefield outside of Virginia and the Eastern Theater of the Civil War. Preserving this land helps us share with future generations a more complete history of the conflict.
57,000 Acres Saved: Recent Revolutionary War Victories Mark a New Trust Milestone
The American Battlefield Trust’s latest Revolutionary War battlefield victories, have helped the Trust meet a new milestone: 57,000 acres of battlefield saved. Thank you! We’ve claimed victory on four more acres at Eutaw Springs, S.C., land that witnessed significant fighting September 8, 1781, between Continental Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s vanguard and British dragoons. A witness tree from the time of the battle still stands sentinel on the land we’ve just saved. We’re also announcing victory on more than a half-acre of land in North Carolina, where the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought, a battle many claim was “the largest and most hotly contested action” in the American Revolution’s southern theater.
Taking Back Tennessee One Parcel at a Time: 3 Acres Saved!
Bringing back Tennessee battlefield one parcel, one acre at a time, is arduous work, but work that’s worthy of our efforts. The American Battlefield Trust’s most recent victory includes an acre saved at the epicenter of the Davis Bridge battlefield and with our partners, the Battle of Franklin Trust, the Friends of Franklin Parks, Franklin’s Charge, and Save the Franklin Battlefield, two more acres of the Franklin Battlefield. Described by Battle of Franklin Trust CEO Eric Jacobson as “one of the last available, most important unpreserved properties in Franklin,” the site was a high priority for acquisition and the Trust is proud to claim victory here while it endeavors to save additional land.
Saved: 441 Acres Across Five Battlefields
In honor of its third annual Victory Week, the American Battlefield Trust proudly announces an impressive round-up of preservation victories. Looking across five battlefields in four states, the news encompasses roughly 441 acres saved by the nation’s leading battlefield preservation and education nonprofit. Of the eight properties protected, six are connected to the Western Theater and the other two within the Eastern Theater. Together, this hallowed acreage carries the ability to unveil powerful insights about the heartbreaking cost of war. Their protection was no easy feat, as the Trust persevered and called on myriad donors and partners to accomplish the multiple efforts. Partners in preservation included the American Battlefield Protection Program, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Kirkby Farms LLC, the Old Dominion Land Conservancy, the Save Historic Antietam Association and the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund via the Tennessee Wars Commission.
Expanding The Liberty Trail: 23 Acres at Hobkirk Hill
Working with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust (SCBPT), the American Battlefield Trust’s most recent preservation victory consists of nearly 23 acres across three properties at the Hobkirk Hill Battlefield in the beautiful Palmetto State. Expanding The Liberty Trail initiative, these are the first acres the Trust has saved at Hobkirk Hill, where Patriots under General Nathanael Greene experienced a loss to the British. However, luck turned in their favor when only two weeks later the British abandoned the originally targeted garrison at Camden, opening a gate for the Patriots to reclaim the South Carolina backcountry. Making the preservation effort possible, the Trust received support from the American Battlefield Protection Program, the South Carolina Conservation Bank, the Palmetto Conservation Foundation and a slew of dedicated donors.
Look How Far We’ve Come! 44 Acres Transferred to the National Park Service
Four recent transfers to the National Park Service, totaling 44 acres, include an American Battlefield Trust success story 22 years in the making. The Trust acquired these 29 acres at the White Oak Road Battlefield, years before it was eligible to become part of Petersburg National Battlefield Other transfers to the National Park Service at Shiloh and Stones River in Tennessee may have been swifter but are no less sweet.
A Trust Triumph: 47 Acres Across Two of Virginia’s Civil War Battlefields
The American Battlefield Trust recently protected 47 acres across two Civil War battlefields in the Old Dominion: Cedar Creek Battlefield in the Shenandoah Valley and Cedar Mountain Battlefield in the Virginia Piedmont. Sites of triumph and defeat, memory and meaning... these parcels make up an essential part of the American story. The Trust worked with the National Park Service and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation to not only save roughly two and a half acres at Cedar Creek but also transfer it for incorporation into Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. This acreage saw fighting, retreats and pursuits during the 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek. Additionally, an approximately 45-acre tract at Cedar Mountain was preserved through the support of the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Virginia Land Conservation Fund.