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Preservation opportunity: Fort Donelson and SHiloh, 168 acres

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Dear Friend,

Fifty-point bonus question for you:

What do the Civil War battlefields of Fort Donelson and Shiloh have in common?

Yes, both are Tennessee battlefields that witnessed the emergence of two dominant, towering figures of the Civil War – Ulysses S. Grant for the Union and Nathan Bedford Forrest for the Confederacy.

Yes, both battles were fought in early 1862, 146 years ago, nearly to the week.

And yes, they are two of the most important battles of the Western Theatre and the entire Civil War, with a combined 44,000 men killed, wounded, captured and missing.

But the answer I am looking for today is that they are both places where the Civil War Preservation Trust has saved hundreds of acres of hallowed ground . . .

. . . and where you and I have the opportunity to save 168 acres more today . . .

. . . nearly tripling every dollar you give by multiplying it into $2.70!

I’ve presented you with a special two-sided official CWPT battle map (download PDF) of each of these storied places.

Regarding the must-have-7-acre piece that we are saving at Ft. Donelson, respected historian Terrence Winschel tells us:

“Due to its location adjacent to the park entrance and proximity to the Visitor Center, it is probably the single-most important parcel currently not protected by the National Park Service or preserved by the Civil War Preservation Trust.”

The two parcels we are working to save at Shiloh – noted in yellow on your map, of course – total 161 acres, and Woody Harrell, Shiloh National Military Park superintendent tells us this about the larger of the two:

“Of all the land bordering Shiloh Battlefield, this piece is the most critical in terms of the potential negative impact on the historic viewshed, if it fell into the wrong hands and had any kind of inappropriate development.

“If CWPT can give us some help getting this into the park, people will be singing your praises 100 years from now.”

That’s good enough for me, but I can understand you probably want a few more details. Let me quickly brief you on this CWPT “2008 Tennessee Campaign”...

 

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