An Unprecedented Chance to Protect 27.5 Acres of Hallowed Ground!

The Opportunity

Right now, we have an unprecedented chance to save 27.5 acres at Manassas, Bull Run, and Williamsburg — battlefields where America’s Civil War generals first earned their names.

These four tracts of land are valued at over $5 million, but thanks to federal and state preservation grants and a generous donor’s $25,000 gift, we’re already nearly across the finish line. To complete this effort, we need to raise just $155,295.

And here’s the extraordinary part: every gift is multiplied 34-to-1.

• A $50 donation saves $1,700 worth of battlefield land.
• A $100 donation saves $3,400.
• A $500 donation saves $17,000.

But this opportunity won’t last. Developers already have plans in motion. Bulldozers could roll onto these fields at any time.

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The History

These aren’t just acres of grass and trees. They are the proving grounds of America’s Civil War generals, where reputations were forged in fire:

• Bull Run, July 1861: Under a blistering Virginia sun, inexperienced Union and Confederate armies clashed in the first major land battle of the war. When Union forces wavered, General Thomas Jackson’s brigade stood “like a stone wall,” turning the tide and earning Jackson his immortal nickname. This stunning Confederate victory shattered illusions that the war would be short or bloodless.
• Williamsburg, May 1862: As Union forces advanced during the Peninsula Campaign, the Confederate rear guard fought desperately to slow them. Here, Joseph Hooker charged so fiercely he became known as “Fighting Joe,” while Winfield Scott Hancock led a brilliant flanking maneuver, capturing a redoubt and earning the title “Hancock the Superb.” Though the battle was inconclusive, it delayed Union troops long enough for Confederates to regroup, paving the way for Robert E. Lee to take command of the Army of Northern Virginia.
• Second Manassas, August 1862: One year later, the fields near Manassas ran red again. Stonewall Jackson held the line in a desperate defense while James Longstreet maneuvered into position. On August 30, Longstreet launched one of the largest and most devastating counterattacks of the war, smashing the Union left and sending federal troops reeling toward Washington. The Confederate victory cemented Lee’s reputation and opened the door to the first Confederate invasion of the North. 

Together, these moments mark the rise of generals whose names would echo through history. And together, the tracts we can save today — at Bull Run, Second Manassas, and Williamsburg — ensure those stories are told where they happened.

But these hallowed grounds are in peril:

• In Prince William County, the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway threatens to surround Manassas National Battlefield Park with the world’s largest data center campus.
• At Williamsburg, bulldozers were already prepared to build six new houses, and another tract is zoned for gas stations and fast-food restaurants.

These are not future threats. They are happening now.

Protect 27.5 Acres of History

History was forged on these fields. Whether it was Jackson’s stand at Bull Run, Hooker and Hancock’s valor at Williamsburg, or Longstreet’s hammer blow at Second Manassas, these places shaped the course of the Civil War.

Now, it falls to us to decide whether those battlefields are preserved for future generations — or lost forever beneath concrete and asphalt.

Your gift today, multiplied 34-to-1, can stop development and protect 27.5 acres of history before it’s too late.

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