CWPT In Year-End Push To Raise $2 Million
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) hopes to raise $2.125 million in order to buy 85 acres at Chancellorsville by the end of the year. The so-called Wagner Tract is “one of the most historically significant unprotected landscapes of the entire Civil War,” said CWPT President James Lighthizer. It was there that Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson led the May 2, 1863, 12-mile flanking march around the Federal right that turned the battle in favor of the South. Heavy fighting took place on this property. Hours later Confederate pickets mistakenly shot Jackson. Lighthizer said there is a limited window of availability to receive state funding. Projects in Virginia are eligible to participate in a 2-to-1 matching grant program through the end of the year. The state appropriated $5 million for battlefield preservation, but projects must close by the end of 2009. CWPT’s Deputy Director of Communications Mary Goundrey Koik said, “The state legislature saw that investing in land preservation now could create a lasting and meaningful legacy as we commemorate the Civil War sesquicentennial, a message that we hope others also embrace.” “This [state funds] is in addition to federal matching grants available to preserve historic battlefield land outside of national parks, leaving CWPT to raise less than half the purchase price from private donations,” said Lighthizer in a press release. Historian Robert K. Krick called saving the Wagner Tract a “preservation coup” and “spectacular success.” The Wagner Tract, just east of Wilderness Church, includes nearly 2,000 feet of frontage on the north shoulder of the historic Orange Plank Road. “Extinguishing the potential for dense commercial use along that long stretch seems to me to constitute the most dazzling jewel in the CWPT’s long and impressive history of preserving hallowed ground,” said Krick. Koik described the tract as “beautiful, open space fronting along Route 3 and also some wooded areas back from the road.” When CWPT first negotiated purchase of the property from Frank Wagner of Fredericksburg, it was for 80 acres at $1.525 million. An additional five acres was added to the sale, bring the price to $2.125 million. The Battle of Chancellorsville is considered to be one of the most critical engagements of the Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee divided his outnumbered army, sending Stonewall Jackson on the flanking march around the Army of the Potomac. Jackson was able to launch a full-scale attack on the unsuspecting Union Eleventh Corps. In recognition of the property’s historic value and the funds needed, CWPT will acknowledge every donation of $100 or more on a permanent plaque at the battlefield site. Larger donations will be differentiated. Maps, recent and historic photos and a video of Krick describing the tract’s significance can be seen at the Chancellorsville09 link on CWPT’s Web site at www.civilwar.org. Pictures can also be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/cwpt/sets/72157603692978833 CWPT has previously preserved other key portions of the Chancellorsville Battlefield, including 215 acres that were the scene of the fighting along the Orange Turnpike on May 1, 1863. Now interpreted and open to the public as the First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefield Park, the site has become a popular historic destination. CWPT also participated in the protection of two other tracts on the battlefield, including 16 additional acres associated with Stonewall Jackson’s flank attack. Donations for the Wagner Tract purchase can be made at www.civilwar.org or mailed to PO Box 17686, Baltimore, MD 21297-1686.
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