Help Save 125 Battlefield Acres in Virginia

The Opportunity  

We’re in need of new victories — preservation victories — to secure the future of our nation’s battlefields. Today, there are about 125 acres of battlefield land in Virginia, at Spotsylvania Court House, New Market, and Trevilian Station, that we have the opportunity to save in perpetuity.

The cost to purchase these tracts is more than $1.4 million. But, thanks to anticipated help from federal and Virginia state grants as well as the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation, every dollar you give will be quadrupled in value.

Will you, a fellow history lover, help us raise $346,000 to save these hallowed grounds forever?

The Land History 

Spotsylvania Court House, VA 

Spotsylvania Court House was the site of the second battle of the Overland Campaign, and one of the bloodiest ever fought on American soil.

Yet, despite its significance, not all the important land from this crucial battlefield has been preserved. Protecting this property would be a huge step in opening up the story of Spotsylvania’s eastern front.

Unfortunately, because this land fronts a main road and is considered prime for commercial development, the landowner received a huge offer from a builder and nearly said “Yes.” We have only been able to keep the seller on our side by matching their offer.

It will take many hundreds of thousands of dollars, but we simply cannot lose this history. 

Trevilian Station, VA 

This important property is under threat of residential development or possibly a massive solar farm. I’m sure you remember that the Battle of Trevilian Station was the largest all-cavalry battle of the Civil War and is well known as “Custer’s First Last Stand.”

You may also remember that thanks to support from dedicated preservationists just like you, we have saved more land at Trevilian Station than at any other battlefield!

We cannot lose an opportunity to save 99 acres here — helping us to tell this battle’s story even more fully for future generations and growing closer to battlefield completion. 

New Market, VA 

The Battle of New Market resulted from Grant’s larger 1864 offensive strategy to advance simultaneously on multiple fronts.

General John C. Breckenridge’s Confederates defeated Union forces under General Franz Sigel, stopping cold one of Grant’s offensives that spring.

The 21 acre tract we are targeting at New Market is among some of the most strategically and historically located properties we have worked to save. 

When you look at the targeted area of the New Market battlefield, you can see swaths of unprotected land literally surrounded by the battlefield. Unfortunately, a McMansion visible from multiple critical viewpoints could be constructed on the targeted property. 

However, our great partners at the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation have taken the lead to save it and have asked for our help.  

Our Responsibility to Preserve 

We find ourselves amid a battle – a heated battle to preserve land – not knowing what the future will hold and wondering what our story will be when the history of battlefield preservation is looked back upon many years from now… 

With grim-jawed determination — we will keep on fighting.

We are fighting in Virginia to save 125 acres at Spotsylvania Court House, Trevilian Station, and New Market! The pressure to develop on battlefield land is unrelenting. But our will to win is unending and uncompromising.

Please give what you can today to help the Trust raise $346,000 to conserve 125 critical battlefield acres at Spotsylvania Court House, Trevilian Station, and New Market. 

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