BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION
by
Mary Munsell Abroe

Mississippi’s Coker House Receives Assistance: In April 2007 this column reported that the historic Coker House near Jackson appeared doomed.  The National Historic Landmark, still bearing bullet holes and cannon ball damage from the battle of Champion Hill, was in extreme disrepair and the state, its owner, had neither the funds to restore nor, ironically, to deconstruct the deteriorating building.  However, the March/April 2008 issue of Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, reports a changed and more optimistic situation: “Under an agreement to get federal transportation money for part of the project, the state committed funds to finish the (restoration) job.  Also, the Trust’s southern office secured $13,000 from the Battlefield Preservation Fund for architectural help.  Plans are now to have the house back in shape by next spring.”
Newtonia (Missouri) Battlefields Preservation Association (NBPA) Is Free of Debt: The January 2008 newsletter of our friends of the NBPA reports the good news that the organization’s debt (for the purchase of the historic Ritchey Mansion) has been retired: “Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, the final red ink is gone with the payment of $87,000....”  The NBPA’s indebtedness for the acquisition and maintenance of the Ritchey Mansion had gone as high as $300,000-plus, but the group’s hard work and wise collaboration with partners in both the public and private sectors–as well as the support of preservationists nationwide–has brought this campaign to preserve an irreplaceable Civil War-era building to a successful conclusion.  As a member of the NBPA and financial supporter of the Ritchey Mansion project, the CWRT can take great pride in this accomplishment.
CWRT Receives Thanks for Donations: Within the past few months, we have received letters of gratitude for contributions and/or membership renewals to several preservation groups.  An October 2007 note from the Kernstown Battlefield Association (winner of the Second Annual Bearss Preservation Award) thanked the CWRT for its $250 membership renewal, indicating that our financial help is essential as the KBA pursues its goals of acquiring, maintaining, and interpreting the battlefield at Kernstown.
            In a January letter Carolyn Elstner, vice president and Ellwood restoration chair of the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, addressed her organization’s thanks to members of the CWRT: “On behalf of Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, I thank you for your generous contribution of $500.00 to the Ellwood Restoration Project.  As you know, Ellwood is a...home situated in the Wilderness Battlefield.  Following...Chancellorsville, the house served as a hospital for the Confederate wounded and during the Battle of the Wilderness, headquarters for Union General Gouverneur K. Warren.  General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s amputated arm is buried in the family cemetery nearby.” 
            Ms. Elstner noted that restoration and renewal of parts of the structure’s interior as well as the furnishing of certain rooms is underway currently, but “there is much left to do in the rest of the house, and your gift will make those phases of the restoration possible in the very near future.”
                      Also in January Suzanne Chilson, executive director of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, relayed the following sentiments: “On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, I wish to thank...the members of (the) CWRT of Chicago for your gift of $500.00 for our Battlefield Land Preservation fund.  Your contribution is...appreciated as we work towards our goal of retiring our outstanding debt on the earthworks property and restoring the Heater House.  With your support,...we have purchased over 300 acres of the Cedar Creek Battlefield which is now preserved in perpetuity for generations to come.”
            We also received a thank-you letter from Jim Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, for renewal of our membership in that organization at the “Color Bearer” level of $1,000: “I am pleased to tell you that more than 25,000 acres of battlefield land have been protected because of your support.  Your gift of $1,000 will allow us to continue to expand our mission, and I can’t thank you enough.”
            January 2008 ended with a note from Linda Wandres, executive director of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (CVBT): “The...Trust wishes to extend its sincerest thanks and appreciation for your...generous recent 2007 donation of $500.00.  Pursuant to your request, we have earmarked your gift for the purchase of the Slaughter Pen Farm.  It is the generosity of persons such as you that inspires us in our efforts to save historically significant land....
            Our most recent effort, in partnership with the Civil War Preservation Trust, is the 208-acre Slaughter Pen Farm on the Fredericksburg battlefield....As you know, the price of this farm was steep, set at more than $12 million.  CVBT has pledged to provide a total of $1 million toward this effort, quite an undertaking for a small, local organization such as ours.  But due to the generosity of our members, we are pleased to announce that we are now more than two thirds of the way toward reaching this goal.  Your additional support will help us tremendously as we strive to meet this major fundraising challenge.”

Members are encouraged to send donations to BPF Treasurer Mary Abroe, 212 Woodbine Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091-3332.  Please make checks payable to “Battlefield Preservation Fund/CWRT”.  Thank you!