Civil War Trust Launches New Website to Bring America's History to Worldwide Audience
(Washington, D.C.) – Already the premier online resource for Civil War history, the nonprofit Civil War Trust today unveiled a redesigned, fully responsive website at Civilwar.org. The site combines the Trust’s extensive Civil War, Revolutionary War and War of 1812 content for the first time and helps ensure users on any device – on or off the battlefield – will have a rewarding learning experience.
“Throughout our history, Americans have used cutting-edge technology in the conflicts that have defined our nation: ironclad warships, advanced medical treatment, repeating rifles and more,” said Trust President James Lighthizer. “The Civil War Trust has the same commitment to innovation, and its website utilizes the latest technology to further the cause of battlefield preservation.”
In 2016, Civilwar.org received 25 million pageviews, about one quarter of which came from mobile devices. The new site will almost certainly grow this number by drastically improving the experience on smart phones and tablets. Early in the process, user testing with Trust members helped inform the revamped mobile design.
In the works for nearly two years, the updated Civilwar.org takes several steps to align the organization’s wealth of military history content with its preservation mission. The back-end of the site is now database driven, which will help visitors find useful related items and receive suggestions for additional resources. Information for Campaign 1776, the Trust’s initiative to preserve Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields, was previously housed on a separate website. Now, Campaign 1776 and all of its associated content is fully integrated into Civilwar.org.
The new top navigation menu aims to simplify the path to key information for website audiences – from teachers and students to casual researchers and longtime donors – with four main areas: “Learn” houses educational content, “Visit” looks at battlefields in the present day, “Preserve” explains the work of the Trust and lists active opportunities to save land, and “Give” highlights ways to support the Trust’s preservation and education mission. In a similar vein, each battle and battlefield has a distinct presence on the new site experience. Battle pages feature articles, videos, maps and primary sources, and battlefield pages focus on ways to engage with sites today, with modern photos and information for in-person visits.
The Civil War Trust is the premier nonprofit organization devoted to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about the defining conflicts of our nation’s first century. Although primarily focused on the protection of Civil War battlefields, through its Campaign 1776 initiative, the Trust also seeks to save battlefields connected to the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. To date, the Trust has preserved more than 45,000 acres of battlefield land in 23 states.
Campaign 1776 was created in 2014 as an initiative of the Civil War Trust; in May 2018 it became the Revolutionary War Trust, a division of the American Battlefield Trust.