Gettysburg National Military Park, PA

The battle that decided the direction of our nation's future took place in July 1863. For three days, 75,000 men of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fought 95,000 men of Meade's Army of the Potomac across the rolling fields and hills of southern Pennsylvania. In the end, Lee's attempt for a decisive victory in the North failed. The battle resulted in more than 50,000 casualties.

The Conservation Fund’s partnership with the Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg has made possible the preservation — through the purchase of both easements and fee — of a number of critical properties on the historic battlefield. The Conservation Fund provided bridge financing for the purchases from its Battlefield Revolving Fund, established by grants from The Gilder Foundation.

The Revolving Fund made possible the purchase and donation by the Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg to Gettysburg National Military Park of easements over:

• 28 acres on East Cavalry Field in partnership with Adams County;
• 23 acres of the Blocher Farm at the base of Barlow's Knoll, an area of the battlefield on July 1, 1863, as well as removal of modern intrusions;
• an historic private property adjacent to the park along the Baltimore Pike.

The Revolving Fund also enabled the partnership to purchase a motel built in the area of Pickett’s Charge, the last privately held commercial land in Gettysburg National Military Park. The Fund held it until federal funding made possible its purchase by the National Park Service and the restoration of the historic landscape. This hallowed ground will become part of the park and help tell the story of the brave troops who fought the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. The Fund thanks the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation for its grant to help purchase the property.

Additionally, The Conservation Fund, working in partnership with the Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg, made a revolving loan of $220,000 to the Friends which made possible the purchase of a nine-acre inholding in the park. The land protected was the site of the action at Devil’s Den. Devil’s Den is a massive boulder outcrop that is about five hundred yards in front of and between the two Round Tops where there were intense Confederate and U. S. attacks and counterattacks on the second day of the battle. The Friends will donate to the NPS.

The Conservation Fund also assisted the Richard King Mellon Foundation in protection efforts at Gettysburg. The Foundation donated 269 acres to the Gettysburg National Military Park on East Cavalry Field, which were the battleground for the U.S. Cavalry and J.E.B. Stuart's forces on July 3, 1863. A 44-acre historic farm adjoining East Cavalry Field was also donated to the Gettysburg National Military Park. The farm had been sought by developers for use as a trailer park.