American Battlefield Trust Reaches Historic Milestone: 50,000 Acres Of Hallowed Ground Saved!

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May 31, 2018, 04:42 ET

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With acquisition of 13 acres at Cedar Creek in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the American Battlefield Trust has reached a historic milestone: 50,000 acres of hallowed ground saved at battlefields of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War. The achievement was announced at the opening of the Trust's 2018 Annual Conference in Newport News, Virginia.

The nation's leading battlefield preservation organization, the American Battlefield Trust dates to 1987 with creation of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. It is best known for its work as the Civil War Trust, now a division under the American Battlefield Trust banner. The umbrella organization and its predecessors have protected 50,000 acres at more than 130 battlefields across 24 states, from Glorieta Pass in New Mexico to Lexington in Massachusetts.

"Every single acre you have saved represents a significant victory in our ongoing race against time and development pressures," Trust President James Lighthizer said. "These 50,000 acres represent priceless national treasures, saved for future generations, and replete with vivid stories of sacrifice and valor, victory and anguish."

"Fifty thousand acres — that's 78 square miles — bigger than Washington, D.C.," Lighthizer said. "But perhaps it is better to remember as an acre for every soldier killed, wounded or captured at Gettysburg."

Much progress has come since 2014 – with 10,000-plus acres saved in four short years. In 2018, the Trust has saved land at Corinth and Champion Hill in Mississippi; Brown's Ferry in Tennessee; and Appomattox Court House, Brandy Station, and Cold Harbor in Virginia.

The Trust crossed the 50,000-acre threshold this week by acquiring the Virginia tract formerly known as the Battle of Cedar Creek Campground. Pivotal to the Oct. 19, 1864, battle that gave the Union control over the Valley, the site was acquired with assistance of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and the HTR Foundation.

A day earlier, the Trust acquired the 15-acre Washington's Charge Site on the Revolutionary War battlefield of Princeton, N.J.

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America's hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization protects Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefield land. Visit www.battlefields.org.

(For entire release, visit www.battlefields.org/news.)

SOURCE American Battlefield Trust