First Brian Pohanka Bequests Top $1 Million

By Deborah Fitts

November 2005

The legacy of the late Civil War historian and preservationist Brian Pohanka is playing out in the coffers of the grassroots organizations pursuing the goal that was closest to his heart: saving battlefields.

In September a representative of Pohanka’s estate notified the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT), Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) and Richmond Battlefield Association (RBA) that they would receive a total of more than $1 million. Pohanka, 50, died in June after a long struggle with cancer.

“There was silence in the room” when the gift was announced, recalled Dana Shoaf, vice president of SHAF. The veteran nonprofit, founded in 1986, will receive $100,000.

“We were stunned, with a mix of sadness and exhilaration,” Shoaf said. “We’re so proud to have been thought of by Brian in this manner.”

Shoaf added, “We’re going to use it to buy land, we know that. That’s what Brian would have wanted, and that’s what we want too.”

CVBT will receive $500,000. “With this breathtaking and awe-inspiring bequest,” said President Mike Stevens, “Brian Pohanka continues to lead and to inspire. We promise to use this extraordinary gift wisely and well for the preservation of hallowed ground.”

The Fredericksburg-area group, founded in 1997, gained an early reputation for acquiring important parcels, including a 99-acre piece of the Chancellorsville battlefield.

Board member Rob Hodge said Pohanka “had a great deal of respect for CVBT,” donating $10,000 to the organization. “out of the blue” a few years ago. “I think he realized the money he gave us would be money well spent.” Hodge added that it may take a year before the new gift is available from the estate.

Last December CVBT presented Pohanka the group’s Ralph Happell Award for preservation, named for the late superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park who left $250,000 to CVBT. Two hundred and fifty people attended the dinner event in Fredericksburg, which had been moved forward five months on account of Pohanka’s failing health.

Although blessed with ample family money, Pohanka worked tirelessly for preservation, researched and wrote copiously, and served as historical consultant for several movie productions. Hodge said Pohanka unstintingly gave of his time, even at the dreariest of county board meetings, where he rallied preservationists against the often uncaring attitude of local officials.

RBA will also receive $500,000. President Julie Krick said the bequest was the first for the organization, formed in 2001. Pohanka was one of RBA’s founding members, she noted.

Krick said Pohanka’s involvement was invaluable at a time when the fledgling group was struggling to gain a reputation. To date they have saved a 9-acre parcel at Fort Harrison, which they turned over to Richmond National Battlefield Park.

“His name really did help us get a good start,” Krick said. “He was there for us and he gave us 100 percent.” She said RBA will look to see if any acquisitions are possible at the Gaines’s Mill battlefield, where Pohanka’s beloved 5th New York Duryee’s Zouaves played a prominent role.

“He was really partial to Gaines’s Mill, and that’s what we’re going to hope for,” said Krick. She noted that the National Park Service protects only 3 percent of the battlefield.

A national organization, the Civil War Preservation Trust, is also the recipient of major bequest from Pohanka, but spokesman Jim Campi said the organization is awaiting word from his widow, Cricket Bauer, before publicizing the gift. The Trust was also designated as the recipient of gifts from others in Pohanka’s memory, which Campi said are still flowing in.

“We’re discussing with Cricket ways to promote a memorial to Brian,” Campi said. “We are very grateful for everything Brian and Cricket have done, and we’re trying to respect their wishes.”

Bauer said she preferred to wait until the probate process is further along before publicly addressing her husband’s bequests. Other gifts of his have not yet been announced, she noted. She has also discouraged organizations from naming awards and events after Pohanka, “at least until we can have some space and perspective.”

SHAF’s Shoaf said the fact that Pohanka’s bequests are only now coming to light is indicative of the modest way he lived.

“No one knew these gifts were coming,” said Shoaf. “He could have announced them before he died, but that’s the way he was. As a moral force in preservation he may be irreplaceable.

“When the gift was announced I couldn’t speak. I was choked up. Knowing Brian is not with us is hard to take. He was a remarkable, generous man. We can do some great things with this money, but it’s come at an awful cost.”