The Civil War Preservation Trust has worked to save more
than 25,000 acres of battlefield land in 19 different states.
See our list of saved land »

Fredericksburg, Virginia: 208 Acres

The campaign to preserve the 208-acre (0.84 km2) Slaughter Pen Farm is the most expensive private battlefield preservation effort in American history. CWPT, working in partnership with Tricord, Inc., SunTrust Bank, and the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust, was able to purchase the property for $12 million in 2006. To support the preservation efforts, CWPT partnered with the Department of the Interior and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which provided matching grants to acquire the property. The Slaughter Pen Farm was the largest intact unprotected part of the Fredericksburg Battlefield, and remains the only place on the battlefield where a visitor can still follow the Union assault on that bloody day from beginning to end. In addition to the 208 acres at the Slaughter Pen Farm, CWPT has also worked to save an additional 14 acres at this key 1862 battlefield.

Glendale, Virginia: 566 Acres

While the Richmond, Virginia, suburbs remain a hotbed for development, CWPT has made significant strides in protecting the Glendale Battlefield. Thanks to our efforts, 566 acres (2.29 km2) -- fully 75 percent of the battlefield -- is now preserved. When combined with previous efforts at nearby Malvern Hill, CWPT has now created a three-mile-long (5 km) continuous corridor of protected battlefield.

Robert E.L. Krick, Chief Historian at the Richmond Battlefields Park, stated that "the recent preservation success at Glendale defies comparison... There has been nothing like it before in Virginia... Never before in modern times has anyone preserved a major battlefield virtually from scratch.

Champion Hill, Mississippi: 406 acres

Unique preservation strategies allowed the CWPT to protect 144 acres (0.58 km2) at the heart of the Champion Hill Battlefield in 2007. This key portion of the field is still owned by the Champion family, for whom the area and the battle were named, but now is also under conservation easement. As a result the Champion family will maintain ownership of its historic land, while ensuring that it is protected in perpetuity.

In addition, CWPT has helped protect a further 262 acres at Champion Hill.

Chancellorsville, Virginia: 230 Acres

CWPT has a record of working with preservation-friendly developers to protect battlefield land. In 2004, CWPT worked with Spotsylvania County officials and family-owned Tricord, Inc., to protect 134 acres (0.54 km2) of land associated with the First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefield. Two years later, a similar deal was worked out with Spotsylvania County and Toll Brothers, Inc. to protect another 74 acres (300,000 m2) of this historic battleground. Thanks to these efforts, more than 2 miles (3.2 km) of contiguous battlefield land along the historic Orange Turnpike have been preserved.

In addition to its efforts at the First Day site, CWPT has helped protect a further 22 acres (0.089 km2) at Chancellorsville.

To further its aim of preserving American Civil War battlefields, the Civil War Preservation Trust has engaged in a wide range of grassroots and community outreach efforts.

No Casino Gettysburg

In 2005 a proposal was put forward to build a casino with 3,000 slot machines less than a mile from the Gettysburg Battlefield. As a leader of the Stop the Slots Coalition together with other local and national preservation groups, CWPT pursued an aggressive media campaign to raise public awareness about the proposal. CWPT commissioned a lengthy study that rebutted many of the economic benefit claims of the casino backers and circulated a petition which was signed by more than 34,200 individuals opposed to the casino. As a result of these and other grassroots efforts, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted on December 20, 2006, to reject the Gettysburg casino proposal.

Morris Island

With the help of CWPT, the Morris Island Coalition was formed in early 2004 to oppose development on historic Morris Island outside Charleston, S.C., scene of the charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry on Fort Wagner, famously depicted in the movie Glory.

At one time, development plans called for a 20-unit luxury house development. In early 2005, the landowner tried unsuccessfully to sell the property on eBay. But by the end of the year, a preservation-friendly developer acquired the property and agreed to sell it for preservation purposes.

Throughout this process, the Coalition was successful in generating local government support for preservation of Morris Island.  Press reaction was favorable as well, and public opinion polls found that an overwhelming number of Charleston residents wanted to see the barrier island remain undeveloped.

In 2008, CWPT engaged in fundraising efforts in support of the State of South Carolina, City of Charleston, and the Trust for Public Land’s $3 million effort to permanently preserve 117 acres (0.47 km2) of Morris Island.