Dear Friends and Battlefield Champions,
It’s always exciting when I get the chance to share news of the latest Trust victory, because YOU are the key that has enabled us to pursue preservation efforts at countless battlefields across the nation! And today, I would like to highlight the history has been saved forever at the Fort Blakeley Battlefield in southwest Alabama.
Make no mistake, this was truly a team effort. The Trust worked with The Conservation Fund and the University of South Alabama —and received considerable funding from the American Battlefield Protection Program — to ensure the protection of roughly 60 acres at the remarkable Civil War site. The collaboration of these varied interests stems from the multilayered significance of the property known as Blakeley Bluff...
The concentration of United States Colored Troops engaged here was among the highest of any Civil War battle.
The land is expected to contain archaeological data that can further our understanding of these Black soldiers’ experiences.
It is home to one of Alabama’s most endangered ecosystems and features everything from some of the highest bluffs in the state to hardwood cove ravines, blackwater swamps and pine uplands.
This newly acquired acreage was the landscape on which the Federals, composed of nearly one-third U.S. Colored Troops, overran Confederate defenses in a raging assault — on the same day that Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. The Union triumph at Fort Blakeley unfolded in a matter of mere minutes!
Eager to unearth this history, the University of South Alabama plans to use the site as a unique classroom, at which scholars can embark on archaeological digs and conduct historical research. The university will also serve as stewards of the conservation easement on this property, granted by The Conservation Fund, which owns the site. This easement will restrict any future development of the property, supporting our goals for historic preservation, the university’s ongoing research, and The Conservation Fund’s maintenance of a unique and at-risk ecosystem.
Victory at Fort Blakeley – both in the Civil War past and the preservation present – epitomizes teamwork. Of the 16,000 Union soldiers engaged at Fort Blakeley, 5,000 Black soldiers charged forward with their brothers in blue, proving their mettle while fighting for freedom and a more perfect Union. And so, with your enduring support for preserving our nation’s formative past, the essential stories engrained in battlefields, like Fort Blakeley, can teach generations of Americans about the value of teamwork.
With Deepest Gratitude,
David N. Duncan
President