Vol. 49, No. 2
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Calling All “Advocacy Allies” The Trust is ringing in the new year with a call to preservation allies across the country. Launching in 2023, the nonprofit is introducing a new subscription newsletter for friends groups, historical societies, and other groups with ongoing interests in battlefield preservation and advocacy. Published on a quarterly basis, subscribed organizations will receive updates on emerging threats to historic sites, as well as discussions on best practices
America’s Monthly Newspaper For Civil War Enthusiasts
for political outreach and proven tactics to empower the evergrowing preservation community. Subscribe to this “Advocacy Allies” newsletter and other dispatches at www.battlefields. org/email-signup. Preservation allies are also encouraged to submit their upcoming events to the Trust’s partner event submission form at www.battlefields.org/ addyourevent.
Help the Trust Bring Preservation Efforts Across the Finish Line
The Shepherdstown Battlefield is one of many that donors can help the Trust preserve through its current campaigns. (Photo by Matt Brant) 1 – American Battlefield Trust 15 – Battles and Leaders 32 – Book Reviews
Preservation projects can sometimes involve several layers of history, ultimately making for an even more meaningful impact. With its latest efforts, the Trust is targeting seven acres across three sites in New York and South Carolina, as well as 128 acres of battlefield land in Maryland and West Virginia. Altogether, these sites cover three separate conflicts in American history. With an ambitious goal of protecting 2,500 acres of Revolutionary War battlefield land to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Trust is eyeing a small property at Upstate New York’s Fort Ticonderoga and two additional Palmetto State properties at Fort Johnson and Eutaw Springs. Fort Ticonderoga, initially under French control, was a critical post during the French and Indian War. Captured by the British during that earlier conflict, a contingent of Green Mountain Boys and New England militia took the fort only one month into the Revolutionary War. Just outside Charleston, S.C., the 2nd South Carolina Regiment seized Fort Johnson in September 1775. On April 12, 1861, a flaming mortar shot from Fort Johnson exploded over Fort Sumter, beginning the American Civil War. The Eutaw Springs Battlefield is an hour northwest of Fort Johnson and represents a key moment in the Southern Campaigns. This is where it became evident that Patriot forces wouldn’t take defeat as an
14 – Central Virginia Battlefield Trust 38 – Critic’s Corner 30 – Emerging Civil War
40 Pages, February 2023
Ruins of bridge, across Potomac River at Shepherdstown. (Library of Congress) answer. It is also a stop along the budding Liberty Trail. These properties are valued at more than $2.7 million, but thanks to a variety of matching grants and already-promised donations, the Trust must raise the remaining $62,000. Preservationists are also needed to protect land associated with the bloody Maryland Campaign of 1862. Now, 160 years later, the Trust has launched an effort to protect 128 acres at the Antietam and Shepherdstown Battlefields. While six acres are prime for preservation at the site of America’s bloodiest day at Antietam, 122 acres are at stake at Shepherdstown. With federal and state matching grants, partner funding, and a generous donor, all gifts will be matched $8-to-$1 to meet the $343,837 need. Learn more at www.battlefields.org/ preserve.
Mark Your Calendars for Park Day 2023: April 15 For 27 years, thousands of history lovers, families, Boy and Girl Scouts, and more have come together to celebrate and help keep our nation’s heritage preserved and well
37 – Events 27 – The Graphic War 21 – Library of Congress
maintained. This year, volunteers will convene nationwide at battlefields, museums, cemeteries and historic sites on April 15. Since its inception in 1996, citizens have taken part in Park Day at sites across the country. Activities vary at each site and can include building trails, raking leaves, painting signs, constructing fences and more. Every participant receives official Park Day water bottles and may get the opportunity to hear local historians discuss the site’s importance. This year, the Trust will be paying special attention to accessibility at Park Day sites, ensuring that the event is something that everyone can partake in, no matter what their limitations! While some locations have cemented Park Day as an annual tradition, new sites are always welcome to join in on the movement. Site managers are invited to register online at www. battlefields.org/addparkdayevent. As the date draws closer, details for individual locations will be posted, giving volunteers an opportunity to make plans to attend a site near them.
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26 – The Source 33 – This And That 12 – The Unfinished Fight