Central Virginia Battlefields Trust

The mission of Central Virginia Battlefields Trust is to preserve land associated with the four major campaigns: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, and the Overland Campaign including the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. Between 1862 and 1864, two great armies clashed in the Rappahannock River Valley. Their battlegrounds have entered the nation's memory as Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. Veterans of these battles began to preserve the scenes of their great conflicts in the 1880s, but it wasn't until 1927 that a portion of this heritage came under the protection of the National Park Service. Today, these historic places are seriously threatened. The strategic location that drew armies to Central Virginia more than 150 years ago draws residential and commercial development at a staggering pace. Beginning in 1970, the population of Fredericksburg and its surrounding counties saw a 120%, a growth rate four times that of VA as a whole.