Civil War Trust

This field—which Longstreet’s Confederates advanced across on June 27, 1862—is among 285 acres of Gaines’ Mill battlefield land that the Trust hopes to preserve.

Over the years, the Civil War Trust has worked to save numerous acres of historically significant battlefield land—at Chancellorsville, Virginia; Franklin, Tennessee; Morris Island, South Carolina; and countless other locales—from the threat of development. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you our latest mission, one I consider among the three most important the Civil War Trust has ever tackled.

What opportunity has me so excited? The purchase of 285 pristine acres at Gaines’ Mill, the site of Robert E. Lee’s first major victory as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. This large-scale acquisition would more than quadruple the amount of land protected at Gaines’ Mill. (To date, only about 65 acres of this 3,000-plus-acre battlefield have been preserved.)

The historic pedigree of this land is without question. It encompasses nearly all of the ground over which James Longstreet’s Confederates advanced to engage Dan Butterfield’s Union troops positioned on the south side of Boatswain’s Creek. An Alabama corporal who participated in the attack recalled it as follows: “Up to the crest of the hill we went at a double quick, but when we came into view on the top of the ridge we met such a perfect storm of lead right in our faces that the whole brigade literally staggered backward…. The dead lay in heaps…. Just for one moment we faltered … and we swept forward … over the crest and down the slope.”

Moreover, this land is truly unspoiled. Aside from a few stray power line poles, it retains its integrity, allowing visitors to see the landscape as the soldiers who fought there did. In short, this land delivers exactly the transportive experience that battlefield preservation at its best makes possible.

But here’s the downside: Saving this ground will cost $3.2 million. We’ve applied for $1 million in grants from the Commonwealth of Virginia. And the Trust believes so strongly in this project that it will commit $1 million from Campaign 150, the sesquicentennial preservation campaign we began this summer. But that still leaves $1.2 million to raise from private donations—and we need to do it by July 15, 2012!

Still, the opportunity is too tempting to pass up, especially considering how much battlefield land in the fast-growing Richmond suburbs has already been lost to development. Indeed, the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission considers Gaines’ Mill as one of its 11 highest preservation priorities. After all, the Confederates’ evening assault at Gaines’ Mill involved almost 32,000 men stretched along a two-mile front, making it the largest Rebel attack of the war!

Saving land like this is why the Civil War Trust exists. Please visit www.civilwar.org/GainesMill11 to learn more about this unique opportunity.

O. James Lighthizer is president emeritus of the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Battlefield Trust, which is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds—Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War—and educating the public about their significance.