Another Preservation Victory

I received an e-mail from CWPT President Jim Lighthizer today, announcing another battlefield preservation victory, this time at Davis Bridge, Tennessee:

Dear Friend,

It gives me great pleasure to report to you that CWPT has successfully closed on 643 acres at Davis Bridge, Tennessee, helping to create one of the largest Civil War state parks in the state!

As you may recall from our appeals earlier this year, the Battle of Davis Bridge, sometimes known as Hatchie’s Bridge, was fought on October 5, 1862, the final significant action of the operations around Corinth, Mississippi, one of – in my humble opinion – the most neglected theaters of the entire war.

CWPT was able to purchase this important 643 acres for $1,979,000, utilizing a federal battlefield preservation matching grant of $948,600, and a grant of $864,000 from the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund. Plus, generous CWPT members “dug deep” despite the bad economy and donated just enough for us to put in our required portion of the match – $166,400 – meaning that we saved this pristine battlefield with a $12-to-$1 of your donation dollar. CWPT will hold the land until the state of Tennessee is ready to assume it from us.

Thank you again for all you have done to help advance the cause of battlefield preservation, and I look forward to accomplishing even more before this astounding year draws to a close.

Sincerely yours,
Jim Lighthizer
President

This is a terrific result, and one that was accomplished through some brilliant usage of government grants for land acquisition. Kudos to all involved.