CWTrust Campaign 1776: Support or Oppose?

Do you support or oppose Campaign 1776?

  • Support

    Votes: 23 100.0%
  • Oppose

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    23

JeffBrooks

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Location
Hutto, TX
Recently, the Civil War Trust launched Campaign 1776, a sister project that will work to preserve battlefields from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Its first preservation effort has already begun, with a fundraising campaign to purchase ground important to the 1777 Battle of Princeton.

Most people I have spoken to about this have supported the new project, but I have also noted some disquiet. On a recent thread, one person posted a concern that Campaign 1776 will siphon funds and attention away from the mission of preserving Civil War battlefields.

I, for one, wholeheartedly support the new initiative. I believe it is just an important to save hallowed ground from the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 as it is to save hallowed ground from the Civil War. Indeed, since so much of the fighting took place in areas with high population density, it's easy to conclude that Revolutionary War battlefields are in greater danger than Civil War battlefields. Moreover, a much higher proportion of Revolutionary War battlefields have already been lost under the concrete and asphalt of New York City and other big urban centers.

So what does the board as a whole thing? Do you support or oppose Campaign 1776?
 
Wrong to see Campaign 1776 as an opponent. It is not either or in this case. When land comes up for sale it should be bought if the funds are there or can be raised.

In many ways the Revolutionary War and 1812 are more important than the civil war to the birth and establishment of the nation. We forget our origins at our peril. I would love to be able to cross the Atlantic some day and see battlefields from all wars perserved for posterity.
 
I'm all for it. I'm confident the CWT will continue doing a great job preserving Civil War battlefield land. I don't think they would have taken this on otherwise.
 
I sure hope they are successful. Try to find the site of the battle of Kip's Bay and you will see what I mean. If one thinks it is difficult to reenact the battle of Atlanta from 1864, try reenacting the battle of Germantown from 1777.
 
I cannot imagine why any ignoramus would oppose this. For one thing, there's a vacuum being filled by the CWT--there is no other advocacy group to do the work. For another, the Trust has the credibility and the horsepower to do this work and to do it well. Only an idiot would oppose this.
 
I'm a member of a few years standing and a long-time contributor and I'm all for it (although I'm also glad they're keeping the money separate). I don't see it as diluting their mission but, rather, expanding it. There aren't that many battlefields from the Revolution or War of 1812 left so it's something that I'm glad somebody is addressing.
 
I second everyone who said they're glad to see the CWT expanding their mission like this. Althogh the American Revolution is not my cup of tea (heh, heh), it does have a following, and, like all other battlefields, its battlefields are worthy of preservation.

Besides, any initiative that helps preserve green space gets a thumbs-up in my book.
 
Why oppose? We need to preserve Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields even more so as they are disappearing at a quicker rate, and are usually forgotten. Also, like David Knight said, The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 secured our independence from Great Britain, and the Civil War would not have happened if these events didn't. Civil War Trust seems to have enough funds and the support to make Campaign 1776 a success to the point of saving our vanishing battlefields and our forgotten past. There is no reason to oppose, and I feel this campaign should receive the same support as the Civil War does.
 
Saving anything in the northeast is going to be super expensive if it is available at all.
Much of it is gone for good, especially those near large bodies of water where the original site has been filled in and built over and there we are fortunate if there is one of those historical marker signs. There are, however a few battlefield sites that are remarkably intact. Saratoga comes to mind as both then and now it is out of the way of much new construction. Some are much truncated and have been so constrained by modern nearby development that it is difficult to visualize what went on at that spot. Brandywine is like that.

There is one remarkable battlefield site that is almost unchanged from what it was like, and a very large, by 18th century standards, battle at that. Monmouth Court House. Fought in June of 1778 as the British abandoned Philadelphia and withdrew to NYC, Washington's Army, hardened from the winter at Valley Forge and newly trained by the Baron Von Steuben, intercepted the withdrawing Brits at this location. That battle was quite large in scale and hard fought in close to a 100 degree heat and 100% humidity. Ignore both sides official battle reports with respect to statistics. It was a very deadly encounter, statistically a draw but the British did manage to extricate their baggage and assorted impedimenta and make it safely to their waiting ships. The Continental Rebels had, however, for the first time in that war, stood their ground in open combat and slugged it out toe to toe, in linear formation at thirty yards distance, with the best units in the British Army.

Surprisingly, American Civil War era artifacts are frequently uncovered there as during the Civil War, since the battlefield area was still not much built on , was used as a training camp. The actual fields the troops fought over, the hills and dales, are still remarkably well, preserved, especially for what is the most densely populated state in the Union. The area is almost pristine and from Combs Hill near the visitor center one can get a very good overview of what transpired there that sultry June day.

But this is a site that desperately needs help. The park is a NJ State Park, not a national park. NJ is having a rough time of it with financial difficulties and in order of priority in paying the bills, battlefield preservation is not near the top. (This is not just opinion. I am a docent at another NJ State site). Monmouth County is fast being built up. If we would like to see a Revolutionary War battlefield, pretty much as it looked in the 1770's it would be wise to move quickly and support the effort at this kind of preservation.
 
Back
Top