Brandy Station Foundation Scholarships

B.B. & Page Mitchell, two of the founders of the Brandy Station Foundation.

The Brandy Station Foundation awards two Brandy Station Foundation $1000 scholarships each May to students from the two Culpeper County public high schools, Culpeper County High School and Eastern View High School. Students submit an essay on an aspect of the Battle of Brandy Station which took place on June 9, 1863. The Foundation seeks to promote students’ interest in local Culpeper County history.

The idea and the initial donation to support the scholarships came from Brandy Station Foundation member Preston Fray. Fray made the first contribution to a scholarship fund to honor Benjamin Burruss ("B.B.") Mitchell III and his wife Page, along with Page’s aunt Nancy and Sidney Ritter.

In 1988, B. B. and Page Mitchell were living on the crest of Fleetwood Hill on Fleetwood Heights Road in Brandy Station and became aware of the efforts of a California land developer to transform the open Civil War battlefield lands surrounding their home into a Formula 1 race car complex.

Working with other preservationists and local landowners in 1989 they formed the Brandy Station Foundation with B.B. as President and Page as Secretary. Operating from their residence on Fleetwood Hill, the Mitchells quickly became the face of local resistance to the racetrack development.

The Mitchells raised funds, conducted battlefield tours, lobbied county leaders and helped to personify the face of Brandy Station battlefield preservation. Their struggle to preserve the land continued for seven long years. Eventually, the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites in 1996 purchased 1543 acres of the battlefield and ended the threat of widespread development. In 1999 the APCWS merged with the Civil War Trust. Today the Brandy Station battlefield has been saved and the ribbon cutting for the Culpeper Battlefields State Park was June 8, 2024.

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2023 Brandy Station Foundation scholarship recipients Hunter Lutz (Eastern View) and Susannah Mason (Culpeper High School), both pictured with BSF President Howard Lambert.

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For 2024, we have Carley Layden (Culpeper High School) pictured with BSF Board members Myra Lane (left) and Elicia Belle (middle).

For 2024, we have Casey Dodson (Eastern View High School) pictured with BSF President Howard Lambert.