At the end of last year I had all but written off a critical 15 acres at Gettysburg as lost forever due to a massive new apartment complex that seemed unstoppable!
A local developer had planned to cover this hallowed ground with as many as 112 apartments spread out over eight buildings of differing heights, much to the consternation of local residents.
But we don’t give up easily, and after months of negotiations, along with appeals urging him to “do right by history,” the developer agreed to sell it to us for the price of $3 million.
Great news... except we don’t have a spare $3 million, especially given all the other threats to hallowed ground already on our docket.
Fortunately, a generous donor who cares passionately about Gettysburg stepped forward with an offer to give half of that amount, or $1.5 million, as a match, if we can raise the other half over the next few years!
We need to raise $375,000 so it can be matched by our donor's gift amount – for a total of $750,000.
Gettysburg is one of the most important battles ever fought on American soil.
And this 15-acre tract of Willoughby’s Run, which saw some of the earliest and most dramatic opening moments of the engagement, is indispensable to telling the story of what Americans on both sides of the battle were willing to fight and die for.
Willoughby’s Run witnessed some of the Gettysburg battle’s earliest and most striking opening moments.
Get your FREE copy of the Battle Maps of the Civil War: The Gettysburg Campaign with your donation of $63 or more.
As a nonprofit organization, we may have limited funds, but we also have a wealth of historical information, maps, and illustrations that are invaluable to history lovers like you.
So, we’ve put together a fascinating new limited-edition book. The copies are being bound as I write to you! The title is Battle Maps of the Civil War: The Gettysburg Campaign, and it’s not available in bookstores but only from the American Battlefield Trust.
If you can please make a gift of $63 or more today, to ensure we have the funds to make this payment to secure 15 acres of battlefield at Gettysburg, you’ll be one of the first to receive this new book!
Will you please make your best gift now — for Gettysburg?
With honor and respect,
David N. Duncan
President
American Battlefield Trust