We’ve experienced several major successes over the years...
In 2012, the Trust saved the 285-acre site of Longstreet’s Advance at Gaines’ Mill, the largest land preservation success since the national park was created.
In 2019, we saved the 50-acre Sportsplex tract before it was lost to development. In 2021, the adjacent site of the Cold Harbor Tavern was preserved, bringing us to a total of 655 acres saved for all time.
But it was in 2020 that we met the preservation opportunity of a lifetime — almost one square mile of nearly pristine battlefield land where the 1862 Battle of Gaines’ Mill and the 1864 Battle of Cold Harbor overlapped.
And after years of waiting and dreaming about saving this crucial hallowed ground, preservation- minded landowners stepped forward and offered us the chance to preserve it forever.
So, taking a calculated risk, we did the only thing we could do — we launched our Gaines’ Mill Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, and broke the effort into phases.
Through each phase, we’ve worked tirelessly to save the only place in America where more than one square mile of “double battlefield” can still be preserved, as well as additional hallowed acres at Gaines’ Mill and Cold Harbor that have become available along the way. So far, our campaign has been a historic success — thanks to your generosity and that of your fellow members.
Next year, historian Bobby Krick will be publishing the first book of a new two-volume set — each about 500 pages — on the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. Bobby is the leading expert on Gaines’ Mill, and these two volumes will be the definitive, generational account of the battle. And we’ll be getting the first copies, hot off the press!
You DO NOT want to miss this exclusive offer!
This hardcover book is heading to the publishers shortly, which means the copies will not be available until 2025, but you’ll receive it before it’s available in any bookstore or online. You will not want to miss this limited opportunity to get a copy of the definitive history on one of the most important battles of the Civil War!
In recent years we’ve seen massive data centers built up on sacred ground in Northern Virginia and near Richmond, too. We’ve seen dense new developments go up that probably never should have been approved, but they were constructed anyway.
And just a few weeks ago, I saw that one company paid $2.4 million an acre for 20 acres in Loudoun County nearby. $2.4 million an acre! We simply can’t compete with that.
Fortunately, there are good people like you. I meet them every day.
That includes landowners who would like to see hallowed ground saved forever rather than see it bulldozed and steamrolled to make way for another warehouse or shopping center.
Please help us preserve this land at Gaines' Mill and Cold Harbor now and forever.
'Til the battle is won,
David N. Duncan
President
American Battlefield Trust
P.S. To a surveyor, this may just be another 1.2 acres of land. But its significance is immeasurable. It’s a true double battlefield, where soldiers fought, bled, and died. It’s also another example of putting the puzzle pieces together. Some pieces are large, and some are small, but the more we add, the more progress we make toward telling the complete story of these important battlefields and creating a connected monument to our history, heritage, and heroes. Your donation today will help us protect this land forever.