National Park Service awards $820,612 to protect Civil War battlefields in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

News Release Date: August 2, 2022

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WASHINGTON - The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) today awarded $820,612.66 in Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants to state and local government agencies in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia to protect an additional 73.21 acres of Civil War battlefield lands. These three grants support the agencies' ongoing partnerships with their nonprofit partners to preserve sites of historical significance while also conserving open space and natural resources. The awards are made possible by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which reinvests revenue from offshore oil and natural gas leasing to help strengthen conservation and recreation opportunities across the nation.

"These grants to state and local governments represent an important investment in public-private conservation efforts across America," said NPS Director Chuck Sams. "They support partnership efforts that thoughtfully consider the needs, concerns, and priorities of communities inextricably connected to these unique places and stories." 

In 2009, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the non-profit American Battlefield Trust began partnering to acquire portions of the Second Deep Bottom Battlefield, in Henrico County, with the support of matching ABPP funds. Today's award to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation adds an additional 50.47 acres to the more than 141 acres protected through this public-private partnership at Second Deep Bottom. During the Richmond-Petersburg campaign in the long, hot summer of 1864, Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac kept Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia on the defensive with repeated attempts to dilute Confederate strength around Petersburg and to threaten their capital at Richmond. In mid-August, the two armies skirmished near Fussell's Mill, on lands today protected with grant funding. The 9th Regiment Infantry United States Colored Troops were among the Union forces who attacked enemy lines in the stifling heat. The Federal assault, though driven back at a cost of 2,900 casualties, siphoned off Confederate strength in Grant's relentless push to isolate Richmond and, in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, to "hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible."

NPS ABPP's Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants empower preservation partners nationwide to acquire and preserve threatened battlefields on American soil. In addition, the program administers three other grant programs: Preservation Planning, Battlefield Interpretation and Battlefield Restoration Grants. Financial and technical assistance support sustainable, community-driven stewardship of natural and historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.

Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants are available on a rolling basis. To learn more about how to apply, head to NPS ABPP's website. For questions about NPS ABPP's grants, contact the program at e-mail us.

Recipient	Battlefield	Acreage	Award
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources	Bentonville Battlefield	4.1	$50,916.00
City of Chattanooga, Tennessee	Chattanooga Battlefield	7.6	$353,522.19
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation	Second Deep Bottom Battlefield	50.47	$416,174.47
	Total:	73.21	$820,612.66

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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