Mt. Defiance Property Protected

Wednesday in Middleburg

I had the pleasure of being present at a standing room only event at the National Sporting Library and Museum when Governor McDonnell presented a Transportation Enhancement Grant to the Civil War Trust for $432,000 to help in the purchase of five acres on Mt. Defiance.

The position was held by two batteries of the Stuart Horse Artillery (McGregor's and Mooreman's) as well as two brigades of cavalry from Virginia (Chambliss) and North Carolina (Robertson). Assaulting the Confederates up Mt. Defiance were Kilpatricks and Gregg's cavalry brigade's.

The beautiful parcel includes three period structures and the original Zula Road. The land is adjacent to the Ashby Gap Turnpike and is located in both Faquier and Loudon Counties. The property will ultimately be transferred to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

Below is the press release from the CWT and at the end of the release, is a link to a map showing where the property is located on the battlefield.

GOV. MCDONNELL ANNOUNCES COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA GRANT TO PROTECT HEART OF MIDDLEBURG BATTLEFIELD


Exciting partnership between the Civil War Trust, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority to preserve historic Mt. Defiance battle site

(Middleburg, Va.) – At a news conference this morning, Gov. Bob McDonnell joined the Civil War Trust, the nation’s largest battlefield preservation organization, at the National Sporting Library and Museum to launch a national campaign to protect historic Mount Defiance on the Middleburg Battlefield. The cornerstone of the campaign is a public-private partnership between the Civil War Trust, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Northern Regional Park Authority.

“Our ongoing collaboration with the Commonwealth of Virginia is among the most fruitful partnerships in the annals of the historic preservation movement,” said Civil War Trust president James Lighthizer. “Thanks to the vision of the McDonnell administration and the foresight of the legislature in Richmond, we are working together to ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to visit these sites undisturbed by inappropriate modern intrusions.”

The five-acre Mount Defiance property sits on present-day Route 50, an important transportation artery crucial to both the Union and Confederate armies during the Gettysburg campaign. Opposing cavalry clashed along the roadway on June 17–19, 1863, as the two armies struggled for control of Middleburg and the Loudoun Valley. Today, the landscape is largely undisturbed, with the high ground defended by Confederate horse artillery clearly visible. The site also includes three buildings dating to before the Civil War — an antebellum manor house-turned-tavern, a blacksmith’s cottage and the small blacksmith’s shop where well-documented hand-to-hand combat occurred during the June 19 fighting. Learn more about the Battle of Middleburg by visiting www.civilwar.org/middleburg.

Alongside the many successful initiatives of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, the Commonwealth has made historic battlefield preservation a key element of its efforts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. These efforts will result in a permanent protection of hundreds of acres of battlefield land through easements held by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Most often, the Commonwealths’ participation in battlefield preservation projects comes through one of two matching grant programs — the Virginia Civil War Sites Preservation Fund, administered through the Department of Historic Resources and the only state-level endowment of its kind in the country, and the Transportation Enhancement program, awarded by the Commonwealth Transportation Board under the direction of the Secretary of Transportation.

In the case of Mount Defiance, the project received a $432,000 Virginia Transportation Enhancement grant, leaving the Civil War Trust to finance the remainder of the $540,000 purchase price from other public and private sector sources. A lead gift of $10,000 has already been pledged by local historian and former Civil War Trust board member Childs Burden and his wife Elaine, of Middleburg.

Once fundraising is completed, the Civil War Trust will place a permanent conservation easement on the property, ensuring that any future alterations to the land and its structures maintain the site’s historic integrity. This perpetual, legally binding covenant will be held and overseen by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Ultimately, the Mount Defiance property will be transferred to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, which maintains nearly three dozen individual park properties totally more than 10,000 acres across Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, as well as the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Among those holdings is the popular Balls Bluff Battlefield Regional Park and nearby Mt. Zion Historic Park and Aldie Mill Historic Park.

In addition to the Middleburg property, the Trust is currently engaged in active fundraising efforts to save significant battlefield properties at Bentonville, N.C., Cedar Creek., Cross Keys, Va., Fredericksburg, Va., Gaines’ Mill, Va., Mill Springs, Ky., Perryville, Ky., Shiloh, Tenn., and Tom’s Brook, Va. To learn more about current fundraising projects and the Trust’s ambitious sesquicentennial preservation effort, Campaign 150: Our Time, Our Legacy, please visit www.civilwar.org/campaign150.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/middleburg/middleburg-maps/middleburg-map.html

A busy Saturday

Yesterday at Brandy Station: May 5, 2012

A fairly busy Saturday for me.  It began with members of the Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Pennsylvania.  The group meets in Allentown and journeyed to Culpeper for a one day visit to the Brandy Station Battlefield.  As we got together, I spoke to them the significance of the day, and what had happened 150 years ago.

On the night of May 4, 1862, elements of the 1st Maine Cavalry crossed the Rappahannock River, spent the night at Richard Hoope Cunningham's home, Elkwood, and raided into Culpeper Courthouse the next morning, May 5.  There stay was in town was short, taking a number of civilians prisoner and departed for points north.  The CWRT of Eastern PA entered Culpeper at night, stayed in town (but thankfully took no prisoners) and departed for points north.

The better part of the day was spent at various parts of the June 9, 1863 battlefield where the group walked a good portion of the ground, including a journey to the stonewall which was defended by troopers of Rooney Lee's command.  All were struck with the pristine land, and readily agreed that this portion of the battlefield had not changed in nearly 150 years.

The group also visited the St. James Plateau and two locations on Fleetwood, where they saw our most recent preservation fight, and observed for themselves the damage to the battlefield.

The tour concluded at Auburn, the beautiful home of the Barron's, but was of course, the residence of John Minor Botts during the battle.  Again all marvelled at the serenity of the location and it's beauty.

I want to thank the Civil War Roundtable of Eastern Pennsylvania for their generous gift to the Civil War Trust in my name.

My new friends departed for points north and I headed home for a quick change of clothes and it was off to the annual Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield Dinner, where my wife and I joined fellow board members of the Friends of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield. 

There was a big crowd, by the way, at this fine dinner, and in addition to the FoWB and FoCMB, several other entities were represented, as well, including Museum of Culpeper History, CWT, CVBT, DHR, and the Fredericksburg NMP.

It was a fine event with monies raised earmarked for two Special Projects:
"1. The Ellwood to Wilderness Tavern Trail: Friends of Wilderness Battlefield has joined forces with the NPS to create a new trail for visitors connecting NPS property on both sides of Wilderness Run. Traveling along the old Ellwood Carriage Road, the Parker ‘s Store Road and portions of the original Orange Turnpike, visitors will be able to hike between Ellwood Manor and the Wilderness Tavern ruins. The greatest obstacle is Wilderness Run requiring the building of a bridge. The cost for the project is estimated at $25,000.

2. Archaeological Survey of Ellwood Manor Slave Quarters: Again the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield is joining forces with the NPS to learn more about slave life at Ellwood. The archaeological study is a multi-phased project. Phase I will ID the location of the slave quarters known to be on the grounds of Ellwood Manor. Phase I is estimated to cost $25,000."

They are well on their way to achieving these goals and I wish them continued success.

A disservice at Brandy Station

Today at Brandy Station: October 9, 2011

Thankfully, yesterday's Culpeper Airfest caused minimal damage to the St. James Plateau property. 

I became aware of the potential for parking on the hallowed land some months ago and was in correspondence with a number of individuals representing the parties involved.  I had felt that the Civil War Trust & and Virginia Department of Historical Resources would deny the request to park on this land.

They did not.

From the CWT web site:
Our Mission: The Civil War Trust is America's largest non-profit organization (501-C3) devoted to the preservation of our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields.
From the VDHR website:
Our mission is to foster, encourage, and support the stewardship of

Virginia's significant historic architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources.

I ask the VDHR if they conducted an archaeological study of the ground to be parked on to a similar detailed level as they did on the Brandy Station battlefield in 2008 prior to a cavalry reenactment? The answer is of course no.

How can you preserve a battlefield by allowing vehicles to park on it?
 

If these organizations, whose charter is to protect our history, protect Brandy Station at this level, what are they doing elsewhere?  I have to hope it is with a greater diligence.  Brandy Station, in my opinion, has been disserviced by the CWT and VDHR.