November 2025 Meeting Summary
At our dinner meeting on November 19th, Mr. David N. Duncan, President of the American Battlefield Trust, gave an outstanding program about the state of modern battlefield preservation and what the Trust does with land preservation. Following the program, Round Table president Gary Nevius presented Mr. Duncan with The Civil War Round Table’s highest honor, the Harry S. Truman Award. Attendance at the dinner meeting was 66.
The American Battlefield Trust was founded in 1987 and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, whose primary focus is on saving battlefields of the American Revolution, the War of 1912, and the Civil War. Mr. Duncan said the American Battlefield Trust and its members have saved a total of 61,000 acres, on 165 battlefields, in 25 states. As a comparison, the National Park Service has saved a total of 73,000 acres of battlefield land. Mr. Duncan said every acre of hallowed ground today is under greater threat than hallowed ground has ever been under before. This is due to the following:
- Industries such as utility scale solar farms, data centers, warehouses, distribution facilities, etc.
- Shopping malls.
- Residential and commercial developments.
At the bottom of the American Battlefield Trusts’ logo, it says: “Preserve/Educate/Inspire.” Mr. Duncan said the lack of historical knowledge today is unprecedented and has serious ramifications for our future. We have to save land and we have to educate people as to the importance of why we do it.
Land prices are also escalating rapidly. The American Battlefield Trust cannot afford to pay three times the fair market value of the land.
On a positive note, Mr. Duncan said the American Battlefield Trust is seeing record amounts of giving. There are 50,000 battlefield preservation members. That is keeping the Trust in the game. Also, the U.S. Government has not cut any funding for battlefield preservation. Mr. Duncan said the Trust is non-partisan and has friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress. The Trust is able to make progress through matching grants. $20 million has been funded this year.
Mr. Duncan said we need to inspire an appreciation for America and why we are the greatest country in the world today. He wants people to be proud to live in the U.S. and to be patriotic.
Mr. Ducan showed maps of ten different Civil War battlefields and showed a comparison of the land saved in 1987 versus the land saved today. In many cases the land saved was very significant. For example, the battlefields at Glendale VA, Malvern Hill VA, Perryville KY, and Brice’s Crossroads MS are substantially saved and are almost complete.
Mr. Duncan said the Trust is targeting another 13,000 acres at the rate of 1,000 to 2,000 acres per year over a period of seven years. The market value of this land is approximately $400 million. The short-term goal is to save 2,500 acres by next July 4th, the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
