To ensure the long-term sustainability of BGES, we must raise enough funds to rebuild our strong financial foundation. Without government support, we fund our mission primarily through membership dues, tour revenue, and fundraising. Therefore, we have launched Our Common Crusade, Part Two. We now seek your financial support so we can continue doing what no other group in the country does—help tell the story of our Nation’s battlefields. Other organizations fight to preserve battlefield lands. Blue and Gray provides interpretive panels and brochures that educate the public about the men who fought on those very lands. With your support, we can keep this remarkable legacy alive for future generations.
As we approach 2026, Blue and Gray remains active, continuing our work across the country. Perhaps most notably, careful management has allowed your Society to become completely debt-free. In the past six months, we’ve begun efforts to replace 55 interpretive panels at Perryville Battlefield in Kentucky and install 23 panels at the Franklin and Spring Hill battlefields in Tennessee. We are also planning similar projects at Brice’s Crossroads in Mississippi and Fort Anderson in North Carolina. Our 2026 Field University Program features 22 tours, covering both Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefield sites, each led by recognized expert faculty. As a BGES supporter, the late Ed Bearss often said, “To understand a battlefield, you have to walk the ground.” We do that with the best historians in the business.
The Society always operates on a tight budget, believing that your money is better kept in your pocket than ours. We invite you to consider making a generous donation to support BGES and help us serve you and continue our work well into the future. Those of us who have reached the honored age of 73 may find it helpful to consider donating a portion of our minimum distribution funds, sheltering those disbursements from taxes and supporting a great cause. Consult your tax advisor about this and the possibility of a legacy donation, remembering BGES in your will.
Blue and Gray believes every battlefield has a story to tell, and with your help, we promise to keep sharing those stories. Contributions from you, our dedicated supporters, are vital as we continue to make this possible. We hope to hear from you soon.