Battlefields Foundation Announces Preservation Victory at Second Winchester

156 Acres of Civil War Battlefield Preserved

WINCHESTER, Virginia — The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation has announced the purchase and preservation of the 156-acre historic Carter’s Farm property in Frederick County.  The property is part of three different battlefields – Second Winchester, Rutherford’s Farm, and Third Winchester – but is most significant for the role it played in the final, decisive actions during the Second Battle of Winchester.

This is the most significant preservation victory ever accomplished on at the Second Winchester battlefield.  With the protection of Carter’s Farm, the Battlefields Foundation has now preserved 222 acres of the Second Winchester battlefield.  The Land Trust of Virginia will hold an easement on property.

The Carter’s Farm property has the highest per-acre value of any tract ever preserved by the Foundation, having been appraised at $7,680,000.  The Foundation received a $3,882,644 grant from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program to help fund the effort.  The McCann Family, the former owners of the property, donated $3,680,000 in value, the largest donation in the Foundation's history.  The American Battlefield Trust contributed $100,000 towards the project.  And hundreds of Foundation donors and members donated generously, including a contribution of $45,000 from trustee Childs Burden.

“This was once thought impossible,” said Keven Walker, CEO of the Battlefields Foundation, “Because of immense development pressures, and the extremely high property value, people did not think this property could be saved.  But now it’s not only been preserved – it will become the centerpiece of an entirely new battlefield park.”

This preservation victory comes on the 160th anniversary of the Second Battle of Winchester.  Fought on June 13-15, 1863, Second Winchester was a decisive Confederate victory that cleared the way for Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the north – an invasion that would be turned back at Gettysburg – and Carter’s Farm was part of the climactic actions of the battle.  When Union commander Gen. Robert H. Milroy tried to escape encircling Confederate forces early on the morning of June 15, 1863, he was cut off by the southerners, who had anticipated his move.  Milroy attempted to break out by attacking the Confederates to the east, with the southern portion of his force launching desperate attacks across the Carter’s Farm property – resulting it what one Federal cavalryman called “the hottest fighting ever done in western Va.”  After furious fighting, the attacks were repulsed.  More than 2,400 Federals surrendered, and Milroy's force was effectively destroyed.

In the near future, the Carter’s Farm property will be opened to the public as a battlefield site with new trails and interpretive signs – part of the Foundation’s Tourism Infrastructure Plan throughout the 8-county Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.

Will Eichler of Civil War Digital Digest on the Carter Farm