Celebrate Victory Week 2025 with us!

Don Sniegowski

Victory Week Continues: Hundreds of Acres of Hallowed Ground Saved Forever!

When the American Battlefield Trust claims “victory,” the term signifies the conclusion of our long and arduous process to save, and often restore, sacred battlefield acreage. From researching and confirming the historic actions that unfolded upon the pinpointed soil, to working closely with landowners on a preservation agreement, to consulting local partner groups and decision-makers, to hunting down all possible funding sources and sharing preservation opportunities with essential donors like yourself, these victories are the product of several helping hands.

During its fifth annual Victory Week, which falls squarely within Historic Preservation Month, the Trust outlined the complexities of the “victory” process with its members — but also announced an impressive round-up of recent preservation victories. Composed of five battlefields in three states, the 2025 Victory Week declaration covers more than 200 historic acres protected by the nation’s premier battlefield land preservation organization, including the first-ever preserved ground at Dinwiddie Court House.

Louisa County, Va. | 99 Acres Saved

Located along the Gordonsville Road (present day Louisa Road / U.S. Route 33), these nearly 99 acres are located in the heart of an area often referred to as “Custer’s First Last Stand” for its similarity to the later events at Little Big Horn.

In early June 1864, cavalry forces under Union Gen. Philip Sheridan embarked on a raid westward to destroy railroads and draw Confederate attention away from Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s upcoming movement south from Cold Harbor. On the morning of June 11, 1864, two brigades of Union cavalry under Gens. Alfred T.A. Torget and David M. Gregg began advancing toward Trevilian Station along the Fredericksburg Stage Road, while Gen. George A. Custer’s Michigan Cavalry Brigade took a side road to protect the flank.

Upon reaching Gordonsville Road and turning toward Trevilian Station, Custer’s column spotted a massive Confederate wagon train in the road ahead. Custer ordered Col. Russell A. Alger’s 5th Michigan Cavalry and Maj. James H. Kidd’s 6th Michigan Cavalry to charge. The Wolverines drew sabers and put spurs to their horses, crashing into the Confederate wagon train and capturing it. However, a quick response by the Confederates encircled Custer’s command, which stood alone until Union cavalry cut its way through to the Wolverines later in the afternoon.

During the fighting, it is likely that the cannons of Capt. Alexander C.M. Pennington’s Battery M, 2^nd U.S. Artillery, were stationed on this land. One of the gunners from this battery was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. The land, now forever preserved, also likely encompasses part of the area where Custer’s headquarters wagon and his Black cook, Eliza, were captured by the Confederates during the struggle.

In addition to your generosity, this land was saved with support from the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Virginia Battlefield Protection Fund. The Trust has now preserved nearly 2,400 acres of the Trevilian Station Battlefield.

Dinwiddie County, Va. | 8 Acres Saved

The acquisition of these eight acres represents a rare opportunity to preserve a strategically important piece of property on an otherwise unpreserved battlefield. In late March 1865, Union Gen. Phil Sheridan undertook a flank march with the Union’s Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps in an effort to turn Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Petersburg defenses. On March 31, the Confederates met the Union vanguard north and northwest of Dinwiddie Court House.

The battle began when Confederate cavalry under Gens. W.H. Fitzhugh Lee and Thomas Rosser assaulted a Union cavalry brigade consisting of the 1st Maine, the 6th and 13th Ohio, and 2nd New York Mounted Rifles that was positioned on the west side of Chamberlain’s Bed Creek opposite this preserved land. Although the Federals were initially driven back across the creek onto the property, members of the 1st Maine temporarily halted the Confederate advance using their repeating rifles.

Later that afternoon, Confederate infantry under Gen. George Pickett launched a spirited assault north of the property, giving Lee and Rosser’s cavalry the chance to resume their attack. Faced with this new assault, Union forces retreated from this tract and moved south and east toward the village of Dinwiddie Court House. Between the assaults, the bands and musicians of the opposing sides performed a musical duel across Chamberlain’s Bed Creek, which was said to have inspired the troops. 

This is the first acre of the Dinwiddie Court House Battlefield preserved, only made possible through your support, the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Virginia Battlefield Protection Fund.

Alcorn County, Miss. | 2.6 Acres Saved

This property – adjacent to land previously preserved by the Trust – played a significant role in the Siege of Corinth, when it was occupied by Confederate troops. Following the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, along with Nashville, in early 1862, the Union high command in the west turned to its next objective: Corinth, Mississippi. There, the Confederacy’s only east-west rail line, the Memphis and Charleston, which also passed through the critical hub at Chattanooga, intersected with the Mobile & Ohio, which connected the Gulf Coast with the Southern interior, making the town a keystone of Confederate logistical infrastructure.

On April 3, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston marched out of Corinth to strike Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Union army at Pittsburg Landing. The two engagement that resulted, the Battle of Shiloh, witnessed the death of Johnston and the Confederate withdrawal to Corinth. Johnston’s replacement, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard constructed entrenchments and awaited the Union advance.

The Federals, now under Gen. Henry Halleck moved from Pittsburg Landing to capture Corinth. During the ensuing siege, Confederates from the Reserve Corps under Gen. John C. Breckinridge occupied this tract. Unwilling to sustain a prolonged operation, Beauregard decided to abandon Corinth and began to evacuate on May 29.

This victory was made possible by your generosity, as well as support from the State of Mississippi. The Trust has now preserved over 800 acres of hallowed ground on the Corinth Battlefield.

Columbus, Ky. | One Acre Saved

One acre of this historic battlefield has been saved forever, preserving a piece of ground tied to the earliest stages of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s rise to prominence. At 8:30 am on November 7, 1861, Gen. Grant and his Union forces disembarked steamboats at Hunter’s Farm, three miles north of Belmont, Missouri. They marched south until they were one mile away from Camp Johnson. Once there, the two sides skirmished until 2 pm when Union forces established an upper hand. Soon after, Confederate forces retreated toward Columbus, Kentucky, and Union forces moved in and captured Camp Johnson.

The first victory to many of the soldiers, Union forces began to celebrate by raiding the Confederate camp. When the celebration became overexuberant, Grant ordered the camp to be set on fire to maintain order. Unfortunately, several wounded Confederates were severely burned and killed in the chaos. Believing that these deaths were intentional, Confederate reinforcements, bolstered by large-range cannons in Columbus, attacked the Union forces as they marched back to Hunter’s Farm.

After another skirmish, Union forces reached their waiting steamships and set sail back to Paducah, Kentucky. This property is adjacent to Confederate Fort Quinby and the area is thought to have been a cavalry camp. Fort Quinby was a Confederate-built earthwork later named by the Union Army after their first commander at Columbus, Gen. Isaac F. Quinby. One or two company-size units of 60—100 men each would have been stationed there. Later, men of the 4th United States Colored Heavy Artillery took over Fort Quinby. The fort mounted one 10-inch Columbiad, one 8-inch Columbiad and two 24-pounders.

Your generosity, paired with support from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, made this victory possible.

Lee County, Miss. | 95 Acres Saved

Along these 95 acres of hallowed ground stood Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s right flank, whose actions at Brice’s Crossroads against Gen. Samuel Sturgis's column marked the turning point of one of the most dramatic upsets of the Civil War. From this very ground, Forrest’s much smaller cavalry force slammed into the Union line, helping to unravel a much larger Federal force and send it retreating toward Memphis. Today, it now stands preserved for future generations thanks to your support.

Late in May 1864, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest launched an expedition into Middle Tennessee. Forrest planned to wreak havoc along the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, a vital supply line for Gen. William T. Sherman’s armies as they moved toward Atlanta. In early June, Gen. Samuel Sturgis, with a combined infantry and cavalry force advanced east from Memphis to destroy the Mobile and Ohio Railroad supporting Forrest.

On June 10, 1864, Sturgis encountered Forrest between Brice’s Cross Roads and Baldwyn, Mississippi. As the battle opened that morning, the combined 3rd and 9th Illinois Cavalry from Col. George Waring’s brigade of Gen. Benjamin Grierson’s cavalry division assumed a position in advance of the Union position on the western side of the tract. Ever the aggressor, Forrest ordered an assault.

During the attack, the 7th Kentucky Mounted Infantry from Col. Hylan Lyon’s brigade, along with Moreland’s Alabama Cavalry Regiment from Col. William Johnson’s brigade attacked from east to west across the tract, engaging and pushing the Illinois cavalry back to Grierson’s main line. Additionally, the 4th Alabama Cavalry and Williams’ Alabama Cavalry Battalion, positioned to the right of the 7th Kentucky and Moreland’s Regiment, attacked across the northern sector of the tract to engage the 7th Indiana Cavalry and 4th Missouri Cavalry from Waring’s brigade. Grierson retreated to the Cross Roads, but further Confederate attacks compelled him to retreat, leaving Forrest in command of the field.

This victory was made possible thanks to the State of Mississippi, the American Battlefield Protection Program and your generous support. Over 1,500 acres of battlefield land have now been preserved at Brice’s Cross Roads Battlefield.