Testimonials

What Our Members and Others Have to Say about CWPT

Members on a battlefield

“CWPT has given me undreamed of power, through my modest contributions, to preserve in perpetuity, important, irreplaceable parts of our priceless American heritage. If I achieve nothing else in life, I know that I have done something of importance.”

- Gary Wayne, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Supporter since 2005

"If I had to summarize why I love being with the Civil War Preservation Trust, why I put them in my will, why I believe in them so, so strongly, it's the word "respect." That's what this is all about. Respect for the American experience. Respect for courage. Respect for a people who fought like demons, but then came together to mend a nation.

"We all want to have some meaning in our lives. We all want to wake up and say we've done something that day that matters. Remembering the greatest pain our nation has ever suffered, preserving the sites where the pain was felt at its most acute, passing on respect for those who fought from then to now, that is meaning and is a great day's work when we know that we have participated, along with Jim, along with everybody else, in this whole group's work. Our children's children will be able to walk these sacred fields and just have a hint of an idea of the sacrifice it took to build this glorious nation."

- Ben Stein, noted author, economist, commentator and well-known actor helped us announce our Most Endangered Battlefields List in February 2007.

"Joshua Chamberlain said 'In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream;'

"What better way to help convey this importance than to preserve battlefields, forts, and buildings having a role in that war, as tangible evidence of the conflicting causes for which thousands of men were willing to give their lives.

"It is, I believe, essential for us to hold on to our history, our values, and our traditions, that we might have guidance in the future. The preservation of Civil War battlefields accomplishes all three."

- Bill Trimble, Color Bearer

"A nation is built on memory of its past. A nation’s people must access this past to make decisions about the future. The past is not only words of scholars, statesmen, and ordinary people. "

- Herb Sayas

"The more I study the Civil War, the more impressed I am by the motivations of the common soldier: their devotion to ideals, their patriotism, concern for comrades and religious faith. Their sacrifice has hallowed the ground on which they fought. We, as Americans, owe it to those soldiers and to future generations to protect that ground. "

- Bruce Miller

"I recently watched the ground mist rise at dawn on the Antietam battlefield. It became even more evident to me that there is no substitute for this land. The communication from the quiet of such places cannot be duplicated in the classroom or on the pages of books. You must stand where those stood who sacrificed so much for us -- to understand. These fields of honor and courage are touchstones of memory that simply must be saved.

"We all know time is running out. We certainly cannot do nothing. CWPT gives us the chance not just to do something, but to do more."

- Kenneth Ramsey, Color Bearer

"For us it is a unique feeling to leave something to the future for people we will never know but to realize now that they will experience what we have experienced. It may be a fanciful thought but we like to think that sometime after we are gone that the money we leave to CWPT will buy a section of battlefield and two people, maybe yet unborn will walk over it and think of the nameless people who helped preserve it."

- Ken and Wanda Hayward

"I do not contribute to very many charities; only those that are trustworthy. The CWPT is an organization that I feel I can trust as demonstrated by your documented results. The Hallowed Ground Magazine is very good at keeping members up to date on property acquisitions."

- Neal Hooten

"When we joined the CWPT in 2005, we thought we would be sending a few donations and not much else. However, we decided to become more active after seeing what the Trust has accomplished through the dedication of its staff and members and the impressive way it has made the best use of its financial resources."

- Don and Lauren Balyeat, Color Bearer

“I admire the work that you do and feel that it is an honor to help out in some small way. In my case, I feel an obligation to honor in some small way the brave men who sacrificed everything for what they believed in.”

- Joe Cardinale, Patterson, New York, Supporter since 1995