Preservationists have announced a major victory to protect a Civil War battlefield near Winchester, Va.
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation bought 209 acres of battlefield for $3.35 million, ensuring the field will remain intact as a historic battlefield.
The land is the 209-acre Huntsberry property slightly northeast of Winchester, part of the bloodied Middle Field during the Third Battle of Winchester, fought on Sept. 19, 1864. The 209-acre addition to previously preserved land will create a 567-acre battlefield park stretching from Interstate 81 to Millbrook High School in Winchester.
Although the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation closed on the property in August, representatives from the foundation, as well as the Civil War Preservation Trust, hosted an event to mark the official announcement of the purchase and to celebrate Saturday’s 145th anniversary of the battle, said Mary Koik, a spokeswoman for the Civil War Preservation Trust and editor of Hallowed Ground magazine.
On hand was Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who has been a chief sponsor of historic preservation initiatives.
“He’s [Webb] definitely a history buff,” Koik said. “In terms of congressional support [for preservation], he’s definitely the guy.”
Webb highlighted the importance of private funding and preservation efforts in saving Civil War land.
“As someone with ancestors who fought on both sides of the American Civil War, the preservation of these battlefields has personal significance,” he said. “The need to protect our nation’s battlefields is far too great for any one well-intentioned federal program.”
The land’s previous owner, the Huntsberry family, has roots in the Shenandoah Valley stretching back centuries.
Bob Huntsberry, a co-manager of his great-grandfather C.E. Huntsberry’s estate, was confident that the land would be in good hands.
“This is an important place for my family — and growing up, we knew that it was historically important, too,” he said when the initiative to preserve the land was announced in November. “We felt pretty strongly that it needed to be preserved, so we are very happy that it will end up in good hands and that people will someday be able to come and learn about what happened here.”
