Tweet
Foundation Buys Battlefield Parcel
By Andrew Martel
The Winchester Star
A preservation group has purchased a 100-acre parcel where the Third Battle of Winchester was fought 140 years ago, clearing the way to promote the battle that signaled the beginning of the end for Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley.
The federally-funded Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation paid Winchester $520,000 for the land. Foundation Executive Director Howard Kittel presented Winchester City Manager Edwin C. Daley with an oversized check for the purchase at Rouss City Hall Friday.
The 100 acres are east of Interstate 81, and south of Redbud Road. They link two pieces of battlefield preserved by the foundation and the Civil War Preservation Trust.
A total of 350 acres stretching south from the CSX rail line and along Red Bud Run are now protected. That includes 20 acres of the Hackwood estate, owned by Bill and Claudia Britz.
In the fall, Kittel hopes to install signs and markers bearing historic interpretations on the land.
Archeologists also will begin studies on selected spots in the coming months, Kittel said.
As the area becomes more accessible and educational, its appeal should grow.
“This will become a major tourist destination,” Kittel said.
Winchester City Councilor J. Stephen Bauserman was pleased at the deal, which took more than three years to complete. Winchester now has an extra $520,000, and neighbors of the battlefield are guaranteed a view forever protected from development.
The Third Battle of Winchester was one of the largest engagements in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War. More than 54,000 troops clashed in a city-wide fight on Sept. 19, 1864, leaving some 8,000 casualties. The Union eventually chased Confederate forces through Winchester, according to the American Battlefield Protection Program.
By Andrew Martel
The Winchester Star
A preservation group has purchased a 100-acre parcel where the Third Battle of Winchester was fought 140 years ago, clearing the way to promote the battle that signaled the beginning of the end for Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley.
The federally-funded Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation paid Winchester $520,000 for the land. Foundation Executive Director Howard Kittel presented Winchester City Manager Edwin C. Daley with an oversized check for the purchase at Rouss City Hall Friday.
The 100 acres are east of Interstate 81, and south of Redbud Road. They link two pieces of battlefield preserved by the foundation and the Civil War Preservation Trust.
A total of 350 acres stretching south from the CSX rail line and along Red Bud Run are now protected. That includes 20 acres of the Hackwood estate, owned by Bill and Claudia Britz.
In the fall, Kittel hopes to install signs and markers bearing historic interpretations on the land.
Archeologists also will begin studies on selected spots in the coming months, Kittel said.
As the area becomes more accessible and educational, its appeal should grow.
“This will become a major tourist destination,” Kittel said.
Winchester City Councilor J. Stephen Bauserman was pleased at the deal, which took more than three years to complete. Winchester now has an extra $520,000, and neighbors of the battlefield are guaranteed a view forever protected from development.
The Third Battle of Winchester was one of the largest engagements in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War. More than 54,000 troops clashed in a city-wide fight on Sept. 19, 1864, leaving some 8,000 casualties. The Union eventually chased Confederate forces through Winchester, according to the American Battlefield Protection Program.