Preservation Effort Includes Land of Historic Bushong Farm and Battery Heights

We are poised for victory on two critically important core battlefield properties – the Buhl and Abel Tracts on the New Market battlefield – and I’m writing to ask you to join me in saving these parcels forever.  More than 74 acres of the most heavily fought over ground on the New Market Battlefield can be ours – free and clear – and opened to all of us as battlefield park lands if we can raise the last $194,000 needed to complete both projects. 

You might remember that we began the effort to save these parcels more than four years ago.  Without state and federal grants to apply toward these purchases, every penny has had to come from individuals.  It has been an enormous effort – but an effort that has raised more than $631,000 in private donations. Members of our board of Trustees have led the charge, contributing almost half of those funds themselves, with Trustees Mark Perreault and Rod Graves (and their respective families) alone contributing more than $250,000!  And thousands of the dollars raised came in smaller amounts – $25, $50, and $100 at a time, as people sent in their contributions from all across the country.  If you’ve already made a contribution, I’m asking you to consider making another, and if you haven’t contributed to this campaign, I’m asking you to jump into the fight by making a contribution now.

Thanks to the generosity of one of our donors, we are making a special offer with this campaign.  To help us raise the remaining $194,000 needed to complete these projects, a longtime member of our preservation family and good friend of mine, Mr. Brian Mattingly, generously commissioned, at his expense, a massive original oil painting that depicts the fighting on these two properties.  Brian retained artist Keith Rocco, and after months of research and about a year of work by Keith, his remarkable painting, “They Were Ready For Us,”  now hangs in our downtown Visitor Center in New Market. And here's the special offer:  anyone who makes a gift of $500 or more to preserve these properties will receive a beautiful giclée on canvas print of the painting, numbered and signed by the artist!

“They Were Ready For Us” by Keith Rocco

These 74 acres are critical to save.  20 of the acres were part of the famed Bushong farm, and more than 50 of these acres were targeted by the Town of New Market for residential development.  It’s on these properties where the culminating moments of the battle played out, where Federals charged Confederates, and Confederates charged Federals, and where, for a moment, everything hung in the balance. Take a look at the map that Hal Jespersen prepared for us, and read through the historic sketch that I’ve asked Terry to include with this letter.  You’ll be reminded of just how important these 74 acres of battlefield really are.

The owners of both tracts have been incredibly patient, but we are now coming up against a hard deadline on the Abel tract and nearing our final deadline for payment to the Buhls.  But even with deadlines looming, I’m certain we can raise every dime needed before we run out of time.  We have already come so far – and I know you will not let this opportunity pass.

 Let me end with a challenge.  Let’s try to get this done before this year’s anniversary of the Battle of New Market on May 15.  Let’s pull together and raise all that we need to finalize these purchases, and let’s do it in time to celebrate victory on Battle Anniversary weekend.  I’m so certain that we can do this that I’m going to start planning our celebration event for the evening of May 13 – the Saturday evening before the anniversary! 

Please do what you can to save these incredible properties; make as significant a contribution as you can, and then plan to join me on the property to celebrate the victory together. I look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you in New Market in May!

Donating Online: Online donations can be made via the “Donate” button above

Donating by Check: Make checks payable to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and note that it’s for New Market. Checks can be mailed to PO Box 897 New Market, VA 22844

Donating by Phone: Call our office at 540-740-4545