ABT Trying to Purchase 144 Acres at Champion Hill

The American Battlefield Trust is using money ($78,000) that was raised in a tribute to Ed Bearss towards purchasing this property. Hopefully the Civil War community can raise the extra $107,000 needed. Considering Ed's contributions to our American history and to Civil War preservation, it seems more than fitting that we honor his legacy by raising this final amount.
"The Ed Bearss Tribute Fund is restricted to the exclusive use of Vicksburg Campaign transactions and generous friends have already contributed $78,000 toward the Fund, leaving us just $107,000 to raise to complete the purchase of the 144-acre plot..."
https://www.battlefields.org/give/save-battlefields/help-us-acquire-144-acres-vicksburg
 
Great initiative, afaik there ain’t much at the battlefield at the moment. It was an important engagement in the Vicksburg campaign and the war as a whole.
 
I can always recommend assisting the ABT, very worthy cause with clear results. They especially need the support when it comes to western battlefield land. As we all know the war in the west does not get the same attention as the war in the east and the preservation of the western lands has suffered for this.
 
The ABT states that it will be incorporated into the Park in the future. "Once secured, it will eventually be added to the Vicksburg National Military Park and protected for generations to come."
 
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The American Battlefield Trust is using money ($78,000) that was raised in a tribute to Ed Bearss towards purchasing this property. Hopefully the Civil War community can raise the extra $107,000 needed. Considering Ed's contributions to our American history and to Civil War preservation, it seems more than fitting that we honor his legacy by raising this final amount.
"The Ed Bearss Tribute Fund is restricted to the exclusive use of Vicksburg Campaign transactions and generous friends have already contributed $78,000 toward the Fund, leaving us just $107,000 to raise to complete the purchase of the 144-acre plot..."
https://www.battlefields.org/give/save-battlefields/help-us-acquire-144-acres-vicksburg
Great initiative, afaik there ain’t much at the battlefield at the moment. It was an important engagement in the Vicksburg campaign and the war as a whole.
From their map, the plot in question is indeed at the heart of the battlefield near The Crossroads above where most of the markers describing or commemorating the main part of the battle are located, including off to the right a new one dedicated to Ed himself:

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In the July 2021 issue of Gettysburg Magazine #65, there is a nice tribute to Ed Bearss written by Sonny Fulks entitled "Ed Bearss Remembered...And Now to be Quoted."
 
I'm a long-time supporter and have sent my contribution.

Long time, though, since I got a T-shirt or a gimme hat ! :whistling: Might have to write the new guy about that.
Now that they are supporting all wars on US soil, I’m not exactly sure what I’m supporting and where exactly my money is going.
 
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Now that they are supporting all wars on US soil, I’m not exactly sure what I’m supporting and where exactly my money is going.
They keep the Revolutionary and Civil War projects separate so one's contributions are still specific to a given project. I suppose if you just send them a general contribution it might get used for something not CW related but all my contributions are project specific so I think you could do the same and feel good about it.
 
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I worry about something like this as well. At the least turning the land over to the NPS could allow for the very real situation where monuments and markers are forbidden, when this land could be protected from that in hands other than the NPS.

I do fully support the Battlefield Trust and donate often, though I tend to focus on specific goals (especially western battlefields). Personally as terrible as it may sound I dont care as much for the revolutionary war sites so I want my dollars to go to the specific CW sites I care the most about.

I do have some concerns that the Trust has not been vocal enough about dangers to the historic markers and monuments at the battlefields and have told them so multiple times. If they ever sell us out on this I will no longer contribute to them.
 
I worry about something like this as well. At the least turning the land over to the NPS could allow for the very real situation where monuments and markers are forbidden, when this land could be protected from that in hands other than the NPS.

I do fully support the Battlefield Trust and donate often, though I tend to focus on specific goals (especially western battlefields). Personally as terrible as it may sound I dont care as much for the revolutionary war sites so I want my dollars to go to the specific CW sites I care the most about.

I do have some concerns that the Trust has not been vocal enough about dangers to the historic markers and monuments at the battlefields and have told them so multiple times. If they ever sell us out on this I will no longer contribute to them.
We USED to think that by placing such land within the NPS system it was being "protected" forever; however, recent events on the political front have proven to be the exact opposite! An excellent example of what should be done is the case of Brice's Crossroads, Mississippi, where the Federal Government still controls ONLY a single acre (site of the Brice farmhouse) at the heart of the battlefield, the remainder of which has been purchased in its entirety and is now held by a private historical group.
 
I worry about something like this as well. At the least turning the land over to the NPS could allow for the very real situation where monuments and markers are forbidden, when this land could be protected from that in hands other than the NPS.

I do fully support the Battlefield Trust and donate often, though I tend to focus on specific goals (especially western battlefields). Personally as terrible as it may sound I dont care as much for the revolutionary war sites so I want my dollars to go to the specific CW sites I care the most about.

I do have some concerns that the Trust has not been vocal enough about dangers to the historic markers and monuments at the battlefields and have told them so multiple times. If they ever sell us out on this I will no longer contribute to them.
They need to raise money from across the country and have kept their mission focused on that. They're wise to stay out of other debates and it's actually not their role. You're free to withhold yours but you well know that if they start weighing in on any side of a debate, the opponents will withhold their money. They aren't "selling out" anybody by staying on message. And they do great work that ought to be supported by anybody who thinks historic ground should be preserved.

As for AWI/War of 1812 sites, I understand your position but those are equally deserving of preservation.
 
We USED to think that by placing such land within the NPS system it was being "protected" forever; however, recent events on the political front have proven to be the exact opposite! An excellent example of what should be done is the case of Brice's Crossroads, Mississippi, where the Federal Government still controls ONLY a single acre (site of the Brice farmhouse) at the heart of the battlefield, the remainder of which has been purchased in its entirety and is now held by a private historical group.
That's not up to the ABT. We all have our own views on these issues and they will vary, but that's irrelevant to what the ABT does.
 
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