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Historian's generous last wish to aid work of Central Virginia Battlefields Trust

Date published: 9/28/2005

By LAURA MOYER

Historian Brian Pohanka, who died in June, left a major bequest to the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, the group announced yesterday.

The CVBT, which seeks to preserve threatened Civil War battlegrounds, learned by letter about two weeks ago that it would receive $500,000 from Pohanka's estate.

That's the biggest single donation ever to the battlefields trust, said its president, Mike Stevens.

Pohanka--an author, editor, re-enactor and consultant to history-related films and television programs--was an Alexandria resident and a charter member of the CVBT.

He had made several substantial gifts to the organization during his lifetime, but the bequest came as a surprise, Stevens said.

"It was out of the blue, and it was him to a T," he said. "All we can say is, we're awestruck, and we of the CVBT promise to be good stewards of the money."

At least one other Civil War preservation organization undoubtedly is feeling awestruck, as well. The Richmond Battlefields Association, whose mission is similar to that of the CVBT, also received $500,000, according to a joint announcement e-mailed yesterday.

Attempts to contact the Richmond Battlefields Association were unsuccessful yesterday.

Stevens of the CVBT said his organization would use the $500,000 to acquire "dirt and grass," protecting privately owned battlefield land from development.

Previously, the CVBT's largest single gift was a $250,000 bequest from Civil War historian Ralph Happel, Stevens said. The group named a preservation award after Happel, who died in 2002. Pohanka was the Happel Award's second recipient.

Pohanka, a member of the Pohanka automotive family, was a lifelong student of history, his friend Rob Hodge remembered yesterday.

Hodge met Pohanka in the early 1990s and said Pohanka raised his consciousness about the threats to hallowed ground and the need to protect that land from encroaching growth.

"He wasn't ignorant, and he was not blissful" about the loss of historic land, Hodge said. "He saw it as a real, real problem."

Besides his preservation efforts, Pohanka made important contributions to Civil War scholarship, Hodge said.

Pohanka was the chief researcher for Time-Life's Civil War book series and wrote or contributed to several other books on the war. Just before his death from cancer at age 50, Pohanka completed a regimental history of the 5th New York Infantry, Hodge said.

That work, which draws heavily from original documents, sets a new standard for how to write a regimental history, Hodge said.

"It's going to really raise the bar, and that's what Brian did. He raised the bar."

To reach LAURA MOYER: 540/374-5417lmoyer@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 9/28/2005