The merger, unanimously approved by the boards of both predecessor groups, streamlined efforts to protect America's most endangered parcels of Civil War history by acquisition of battlefield lands.

[9] The president of the American Battlefield Trust is David N. Duncan, the organization's longtime former Chief Development Officer, who was appointed to the top position by the Board of Trustees effective October 1, 2020, upon the retirement of O. James Lighthizer.

A native of Virginia, Duncan is a graduate of James Madison University and was a political fund raiser for a direct mail company before joining the Trust.

[11] On January 13, 2021, Lighthizer was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Donald J. Trump in a ceremony at the White House for his work in battlefield preservation.

Washington's victory at Princeton ended a 10-day campaign that began with the Crossing of the Delaware and the surprise attack on the Hessian troops at Trenton, N.J.

Susan Eisenhower, Emmy award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, Medal of Honor recipient Paul W. Bucha, composer John Williams, and actors Matthew Broderick, Stephen Lang (actor), and Sam Waterston were all featured in a Jeff Griffiths produced video declaring their opposition to the proposed Gettysburg casino.

[25] On April 14, 2011, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted to reject this second proposal to bring casino gambling to the doorstep of Gettysburg National Military Park.

[26] In May 2002, a regional developer announced a plan to build 2,300 houses and 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of commercial space on the 790-acre (3.2 km2) Mullins Farm, site of the first day of fighting at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Soon thereafter, the Civil War Trust formed the Coalition to Save Chancellorsville, a network of national and local preservation groups, that waged a vocal campaign against the development.

[citation needed] As a result of these efforts, in March 2003 the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors denied the rezoning application that would have allowed for the development of the site.

[28] Press reaction was favorable as well, and public opinion polls found that an overwhelming number of Charleston residents wanted to see the barrier island remain undeveloped.

Together with the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Piedmont Environmental Council, the National Parks Conservation Association, Preservation Virginia and a group of concerned local residents, the Civil War Trust opposed the construction of a Walmart Supercenter on the Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County, Virginia.

Following a nationwide outcry from preservationists and historians alike, Walmart Stores, Inc. announced in January 2011 that it had "decided to preserve" rather than develop the historic site where local officials had given the company permission to construct its newest superstore in 2009.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian James McPherson had identified the site as part of "the nerve center of the Union Army during the Battle of the Wilderness.

"[citation needed] Trust President Jim Lighthizer praised Walmart's decision, stating that founder Sam Walton, a veteran of the Second World War, would have been "proud" of his company's move to preserve the hallowed ground.

"We firmly believe that preservation and progress need not be mutually exclusive, and welcome Walmart as a thoughtful partner in efforts to protect the Wilderness Battlefield.

During Lighthizer's tenure as president of the CWPT and the Civil War Trust, the group has added more than 32,500 acres (132 km2) of protected land, and has 200,000 members and supporters nationwide.

A retired investment banker and financial executive, Daum also serves on executive committee and board of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Sheltering Arms (a New York-based social services agency), the Royal Oak Foundation (the US affiliate of the UK National Trust), and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

In June 2015, as the Civil War sesquicentennial concluded, the Trust announced that it had met its revised goal and raised a total of $52.5 million during the four-year effort.

[39] In 2020, video productions created by the Trust in association with Wide Awake Films earned Silver Medal honors in major international competitions from the Society of Publication Designers and the Telly Awards, showcasing the innovative means available to bring the past alive through this medium.

[43][44] The Trust's Gettysburg Animated Map, produced by Wide Awake Films, received a 2014 Silver Telly Award in the Online/Historical Programs category.