Help Restore the Backham Tract Landscape!

Through the generosity of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust’s (CVBT) donors, about two and a half years ago we added the 1.2-acre “Beckham Tract” puzzle piece to the growing list of Chancellorsville “Jackson” Flank Attack properties that are now preserved forever.

However, additional work remains at the Beckham Tract to return it to its wartime appearance and before we call this preservation battle a total victory. Three modern structures stand on this site. A house and two large garage buildings currently hinder visitors’ ability to envision what happened here 161 years ago. We need your help to remove them, restore the landscape back to as close as possible to what the soldiers who fought here witnessed, and interpret this extremely important part of the Battle of Chancellorsville. This will also prepare the site for future access and interpretation.

Reclaiming the site’s historic environment encourages historical empathy, a proper understanding of time, place, and situation. Developing historical empathy is difficult enough when faced with numerous distractions of present-day life. Automobile noise, asphalt, and modern buildings are all part of our twenty-first century world. They obviously cannot be totally avoided.

Procuring historic battlefield land is certainly not inexpensive, neither is reclaiming it. The cost of razing the structures and removing the debris on this property will cost CVBT nearly $35,000. Please do you part and support this effort with your contribution. Thank you!