SAVE BRANDY STATION - Two critical pieces totaling 244 acres. DONATE NOW!

With your support, we have already saved over 2,000 acres at Brandy Station battlefield, the site of the largest cavalry fight in North American history. Now, I’m asking for your help in saving an additional 244 acres of Virginia hallowed ground. Will you help ensure these two historic tracts are preserved for future generations?

First, we can save 70 acres near Beverly’s Ford and Fleetwood Hill where—on June 9, 1863—near Beverly’s Ford and Fleetwood Hill, Confederate forces under General W.H.F. “Rooney” Lee repulsed multiple Union attacks in what one observer called “the finest fighting of the war.”

To the south, near the village of Stevensburg, Confederate forces from South Carolina and Virginia were locked in fierce cavalry combat with Union forces under Colonel Alfred Duffié. It is here that we have targeted 174 acres to preserve in perpetuity.

For future generations to truly understand what took place on this ground in 1863, we must strive to provide an understanding of the battle in its entirety. By adding these 244 acres to what already has been preserved, you're doing just that: saving two crucial portions of the Brandy Station battlefield, where the valor of individual soldiers shaped the course of the battle and our nation's future.

We have been recogonized by the Civil War Trust

January 20, 2017

CWRT of Eastern Pennsylvania Inc. PO Box 333

Allentown, Pennsylvania   18105-0333

Dear CWRT of Eastern Pennsylvania Inc.,

You, my friends are true heroes of preservation! It is my extraordinary privilege to recognize you as part of our most esteemed recognition group here at the Civil War Trust: The Top 300. In terms of cumulative giving amount, you are among our top 300 lifetime donors - in the history of our 16 years in battlefield preservation. Thank You!

When it comes down to it though we do our best to secure grants and work with government entities for funding, we can only preserve land if we have the money with which to purchase it. In total, our Top 300 members have given over $81 Million to the Trust -all in the name of battlefield preservation. That's equal to a third of all of the money we've raised, ever. Truly amazing.

 Your generosity to the Trust reflects your patriotism and your vision for the future. On behalf of all future generations of Americans, I thank you! As a small token of my thanks, I 'm enclosing a series of postcards featuring battlefields that you have helped save -just a sampling of the more than 44,000 acres we've saved in 23 states, at I23 battlefields across the country. I hope that as you look at these images, and use these postcards, you will be proud of the difference you are making.

 It is my honor to partner with you in this historic effort. We look forward to working closely with you as we continue the fight to save even more hallowed ground.  Andas always, pleaselet me knowif thereis anythingIcan do for you.

 Your friend in preservation,

Jim Lighthizer President

Whether it was the big, influential battles or one of the countless small engagements that are not household names, Virginia and West Virginia played pivotal roles in our Civil War. What we now call West Virginia was still part of the Old Dominion in 1861 when Union and Confederate forces lunged blindly at one another in an effort to control the region. Just east of the Alleghenies, the verdant fields of the Shenandoah Valley were also vital to the strategies of Northern and Southern armies, leading to a seesaw struggle that lasted nearly the entire war. And, of course, the land surrounding the Confederate capitol of Richmond became one vast battleground in 1864 and 1865 as the blue and the gray grappled with one another in the war’s desperate final months. The Civil War touched every part of the United States, but its impact on Virginia and West Virginia was immense.

The Civil War Trust now has the opportunity to save 243 acres at four battlefields in Virginia and West Virginia. We are saving a vital tract at the heart of the Cedar Creek battlefield in Virginia, as well as additional acres at another Virginia battlefield, New Market Heights—a battle in which 23 members of the United States Colored Troops received the Medal of Honor. In the Mountain State, we are preserving a massive 200-acre tract at Harpers Ferry, which figured prominently in the 1862 battle and siege. Lastly, we are saving the first acres ever preserved at Greenbrier River, scene of an early war clash in West Virginia.

Take advantage of a $14.96-to-$1 match and help us save these four battlefields!

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/cedarcreek/four-battlefields-2016/

Petersburg National Battlefield Gets OK To Expand

The site of the 6th Corps Breakthrough during the siege of Petersburg, would be added to Petersburg National Battlefield under legislation sent to the president to sign/NPS

Congress has passed legislation to give the National Park Service permission to expand Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia by more than 7,200 acres. The park currently consists of approximately 2,700 acres; however, with the passing of this legislation, it now has the opportunity to expand by another 7,238 acres.

The Siege of Petersburg was the longest military event in the entire Civil War, lasting more than nine months. Eighteen separate battlefields are commemorated by Petersburg National Battlefield. The specific battlefields, which can benefit from the authority to protect additional lands, include Five Forks, Peebles Farm, Ream’s Station, the Crater, and the site of the Union Army’s breakthrough on April 2, 1865.

The Petersburg boundary expansion legislation was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, for Fiscal Year 2017, after first being introduced in separate bills by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, and Reps. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, and Randy Forbes, R-Virginia.

“We are excited about this new opportunity to join with the battlefield community to save our national treasures. Nowhere else in our nation’s history have so many Americans fought and died for ideas they so strongly believed in – some even against their own families," said battlefield Superintendent Lewis Rodgers. "We are looking forward to open up new places for our children to learn about their heritage and enjoy ‘America’s best idea,’ its national parks.”

Shiloh National Military Park Gains 350 Acres Thanks To Friends Group

Shiloh National Military Park  is more than 350 acres larger than it was last month, thanks to the efforts of Friends of the Siege and Battle of Corinth, Mississippi.

The Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park was established on September 22, 2000, and has an authorized land area of approximately 950 acres. With a land donation made December 8, the park now owns more than 800 acres of the Corinth battlefield unit. Among the donated lands are Battery Robinett, Confederate Siege works, various surviving fortifications, and significant portions of the battlefield landscape, where attacking Confederate forces engaged the Union garrison occupying the town in October 1862.

For six months in 1862, from April until October, the fight to control Corinth’s crucial railroad crossover elevated this town to a military prominence perhaps second only to Richmond, Virginia. During this time, five armies comprising nearly 300,000 men fought for control of the Corinth railroad junction. Soldiers, slaves, and later contrabands moved hundreds of thousands of tons of earth to construct nearly 40 miles of rifle pits, forts, and artillery positions. The surviving earthworks in and around Corinth are rare examples of fortifications constructed early in the Civil War, making their continued preservation important to understanding the evolution of military tactics in the United States.

While the initial fortifications were built by Confederate forces, the vast majority of the fieldworks were constructed by Union forces. The most intense period of fortification was between March and October of 1862, representing four distinct phases of construction.

• First was erection of the "Beauregard Line," named for General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and built by the Confederates from March thru May, 1862, to defend the vital railroad hub from attack from the north and east.
• Second were a series of extensive siege lines, constructed throughout May 1862 to protect the advancing Northern armies from surprise attacks by Confederate forces occupying Corinth.
• Third was the “Halleck Line,” named for Major General Henry W. Halleck, commander of the western Union armies in 1862. Constructed in June and July of 1862, this line consisted of six forts, fronting west and south of the city, designed to extend the captured Confederate earthworks completely around the city.
• Finally, the “Rosecrans Line,” named for Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the occupying Federal garrison during the Battle of Corinth, was comprised of seven forts constructed close to the railroad crossing, making it more realistic for an increasingly smaller garrison of Union soldiers to defend the community.

The properties were originally acquired by the Friends of the Siege and Battle of Corinth, Inc., a nonprofit entity that assists the community and the National Park Service by raising public awareness of the importance of these sites. Since 1993, the Friends of the Siege and Battle of Corinth, Inc., has counted on the generosity of individuals, businesses, and non-profit foundations, such as the Civil War Trust, to raise funds in support of a variety of projects and land acquisition efforts that benefit the preservation of these significant sites. This donation culminates more than a decade of work by the friends group.

• Shiloh National Military Park

Article Submitted by Joe Riggs

Discovering new information relating to my ancestor’s regiment is my pastime.  I enjoy working with and discovering original documents relating to his regiment. Over the years, visits to several small Wisconsin county historical societies, GAR Halls, libraries and such produce a wealth of new information. During these trips to Wisconsin, I realize much is being lost to the effects of age.

In my opinion, a missing section in the preservation conflict is saving the handwritten record of this war. Schools todays are dismissing cursive writing and reading in lieu completing everything on the computer. Soon, the old folks will be the few able to read cursive including our Declaration of Independence. The original records, diaries, letters and such are in cursive. In my research of my ancestor’s regiment, I examine countless shoeboxes of cursive accounts covering the events of 1860-1865 then interpreting and transcribing these wonderful gems. Owning a Webster’s 1864 dictionary also helps with the task. The English consider one hundred and fifty year old documents as modern history. However, they realize that time is running out and are employing over a thousand volunteers to transcribe and preserve older official papers. Should we follow their example? Our local historical societies are bursting as such. Consider the wealth of information at the Army War College, Gettysburg, Vicksburg or even the National Archives.

What must we require to begin transcribing these wonderful history treasures? A volunteer organization is essential; however, it is also necessary to have the cooperation of the depository. Oftentimes, this can be a problem where the curators may believe we are invading their turf. We all need to cooperate for our mutual benefit such as, the easy exchange of information via the internet and a new source of income for organizations storing and sharing the data.

Round Table members such as Richard Matthews (discovering the grave sites of nearly one thousand Civil War veterans), Lewis Schmidt (the 47th Pennsylvania), William Goble (New Jersey regiments), Ed Root (Nisky Hill GAR Civil War plot), Jeff Stocker (153d Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry) and others accomplish much; however, additional material is waiting for our discovery. I wonder if we and other organizations ought to involve ourselves in this side of preservation, or should we lazily wait and hope someone completes the assignment?

If you wonder what tidbits are waiting for discovery, here are two from my ancestor’s regiment.

A Wisconsin private writes to his brother about his night in Nashville. “I had a really, really great night in Nashville. Do not tell mom. This is our secret.” Translation: I passed the night drinking and with hookers.

Wisconsin serves as the rear guard during the disastrous Red River retreat. They destroy everything of value and strategic importance such as bridges, food supplies and plantations. At one plantation, they discover the owner’s stash of gold coins. There’s enough loot for everyman in the detachment to receive a $20 gold piece.

Should we allow this opportunity to pass and not preserve our local wealth of Civil War data?