About the APCWS
Founded in 1987 by a group of historians deeply concerned over the irresponsible development and eradication of America's Civil War battlefields, the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) was a membership-driven national non-profit organization. In November 1999, APCWS merged with The Civil War Trust to form the Civil War Preservation Trust.
APCWS acted to preserve and protect these hallowed grounds by directly purchasing the property or negotiating protective easements.
The Origins of the APCWS
When
a group of park service historians and Civil War scholars
first gathered in a private home in Fredericksburg
in 1987, they could not have realized what their efforts
would bring forth.
Armed with little more than a burning desire to save our rapidly vanishing Civil War battlefields, they enlisted friends and historians, pledged their personal funds, and pushed on to organize the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS).
From those humble beginnings, APCWS grew to be a national (and international) non-profit organization with an impressive history of land acquisition and a permanent niche in the story of Civil War battlefield preservation.
APCWS not only protected thousands of acres of battlefields
from destruction, but offered educational tours and
seminars with prominent historians, a Civil War travel
program, and educational outreach and consulting programs
to inform many about our Civil War heritage.