11 Most Endangered
Brandy Station Battlefield
Year Listed: 1993
Location: Virginia
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Development
Twenty thousand Union and Confederate soldiers met here in 1863 in the largest calvary battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. Though Southern forces held the field at day's end, the battle marked the emergence of the Northern calvary as equal to its highly regarded Confederate foe. The rural landscape, encompassing both the battleground and the site of the Union Army' Largest winter encampment of the war, has changed remarkably little since the 1860s, with historic houses and roads intact, campsites and trenches still clearly visible, with even fence lines in their original locations. But this important site, partially zoned for industrial use and enjoying easy access to a public airport, major highways and an active rail line, faces development pressures that make the threat of ad hoc sprawl very real. To prevent it, sensitive land-use planning is needed for the entire area, along with protection for the critical portion of the battlefield.
Update
Following the 1993 listing of Brandy Station as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, the developer's plan was halted by bankruptcy, and preservationists began efforts to purchase the land and acquired 1,543 acres. Efforts to ensure the preservation of the remainder of the battlefield continue. In 2005, the Civil War Preservation Trust and the Brandy Station Foundation announced the acquisition of key battlefield land on the Brandy Station Battlefield in Culpeper County, Virginia. This 18.9-acre property was at the center of the battle on June 9, 1863. Although the effort to save the battlefield continues, hundreds of acres of Brandy Station are preserved for future generations.
