fought, I would submit to you that the Confederates could have gone on to create major havoc in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and could have, in fact, surrounded the city of Washington,” said local historian Clark “Bud” Hall. “All but for the Battle of Brandy Station.” Te Battle of Cedar Mountain in August
1862 featured Confederate General Tomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Culpeper’s own General A.P. Hill and Charles T. Crittenden, who served under Jackson. Also notable: Te Battle of Kelly’s Ford, which set the stage for Brandy Station and the Gettysburg campaign, and the Battle of Culpeper Court House fought on Sept. 13, 1863 — a battle that involved General George Armstrong Custer.
The push for a park Tis landscape of large battles and
smaller skirmishes, along with historic homes and natural features, made Culpeper an ideal location for an ambitious and encompassing preservation initiative. In 2015, the American Battlefield Trust
joined with local government officials and community leaders to launch the Culpeper
Battlefields State Park Alliance. Te effort gained momentum and support — locally and in Richmond — during the years that followed. In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees Virginia State Parks, to consider the management, potential activities at and operation of the proposed park and report back to the legislature with its recommendations. As a result, Friends of Culpeper
Battlefields, a permanent and locally led successor organization to the Alliance, was formed to support battlefield preservation, stewardship and heritage tourism in the region.
2022 proved to be a pivotal year. On
January 21, Governor Glenn Youngkin requested $4.93 million for land acquisition to create a Culpeper Battlefields State Park. Ten in June, Youngkin officially authorized the new state park, scheduled to open July 1, 2024. Over the years, the American Battlefield
Trust acquired 1,700 acres of land for preservation across Brandy Station, Cedar Mountain and the area’s other historic
battlefields. Tis land will form the nucleus of the park. Additional funding from the state will allow the Trust to acquire hundreds more acres to supplement and enhance the park for visitors in the years ahead. Some of the other building blocks
for the park’s creation are also in place, including interpretive trails, parking areas — and a support network. Te Trust has offered to continue management of land in the park for the first five years as the state forms its own plan.
A historic — and economic — boon According to advocates, the new
park also will provide better access to the Rappahannock River for outdoor enthusiasts and historians. Te latter is especially significant for the study of African American history: Tousands of slaves crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers as they fled in search of freedom in the North. And then there’s the economic impact:
When combined with other tourism activities, the new park will bring more revenue to restaurants, downtown
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