This victory was made possible through the largest-ever matching grant from the federal American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), dedicating more than $10 million to protect this critical land. America’s most successful heritage land conservation program, the ABPP has helped the Trust save more than 36,000 acres of land in 20 states.
But that’s not the only milestone this victory represents.
Last summer, we celebrated our 60,000th acre saved. Now, less than a year later, this victory at the Breakthrough brings our total tally of hallowed ground to more than 61,000 acres and pushes the amount saved across the Commonwealth of Virginia past 31,000. Such success in the Old Dominion is the result of more than its concentration of battlefields; the support of state government agencies – like the Virginia Department of Historic Resources – and officials are also necessary.
This victory is a prime example of what we, with our state and federal partners, can accomplish together. But make no mistake: Trust members like you were the lynchpin. Without you, and your long-term commitment to preserving our nation’s irreplaceable historic landscapes, we would not be able to save a single acre. Time and again, you carry us to victory, and we could not be more thankful.
The Breakthrough: Past & Present
Following a nine-month siege, the Union Army of the Potomac launched a massive assault on the Southern defenses southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, an attack remembered by history as “The Breakthrough” for piercing those lines clearing the road to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Within weeks, the Civil War was over.
Fighting at The Breakthrough was intense – sometimes hand-to-hand – and climactic, resulting in perhaps the greatest concentration of Medals of Honor ever awarded. Researchers at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society believe that 31 Medal of Honor citation actions occurred across the now-combined site.
Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Charles G. Gould leads the 5th Vermont Veteran Volunteers into the earthworks defended by the 37th North Carolina at Petersburg on April 2, 1865 | Don Troiani
Through a series of transactions over the course of 30 years, the Trust has acquired 439 acres associated with the Union advance and has been gradually restoring the land to its wartime appearance by removing modern buildings and other intrusions. Meanwhile, the contiguous Pamplin campus occupies a significant section of the Confederate line and includes two miles of pristine earthworks.
The Pamplin campus was assembled in phases through purchases made by businessman and philanthropist Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., beginning in the early 1990s when the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, a predecessor of the American Battlefield Trust, alerted him to the development threat to land once owned by his family. Pamplin went on to acquire adjacent parcels, including the Banks House, Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters on April 2–3, 1865.
The 25,000-square-foot National Museum of the Civil War Soldier opened on Memorial Day 1999, and the park was named a National Historic Landmark in 2006. The museum will continue to welcome history seekers, managed by the newly formed Petersburg Battlefields Foundation, its perpetual operation endowed by the proceeds of the land’s sale to the Trust.
Without you, this hallowed ground would be at risk of being lost forever. Now, generations to come will know, understand, appreciate, and be inspired by the Petersburg Breakthrough.
Our victories are your victories. Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to celebrating even more victories with you soon.
‘Til the battle is won,
David N. Duncan, President
American Battlefield Trust
