In October, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) awarded over 1.3 million dollars in grant funding through the Virginia Battlefield Protection Fund (VBPF) to 8 projects, protecting over 211 acres of battlefields across Virginia.
The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) received 7 awards, preserving a total of 209 acres across multiple battlefields. ABT received 2 grants totaling $507,350 to preserve 2 tracts at Chancellorsville. Additionally, they received $96,000 towards preserving 42.8 acres of the Cumberland Church Battlefield in Farmville. Other ABT awards include, $80,000 for an 11.37-acre parcel in Henrico County related to the Battles of Glendale, Malvern Hill, Deep Bottom I, and Deep Bottom II; $300,000 for 98.7 acres at Trevilian Station; $25,500 to preserve 8 acres at Dinwiddie Courthouse; and $133,750 for 3 acres at Ream’s Station.
The Central Virginia Battlefields Trust received a grant of $164,071 for the preservation of 2 acres on the Chancellorsville Battlefield.
“The awarding of these funds demonstrates Virginia’s sustained commitment to the preservation of significant historic battlefield properties,” said Julie V. Langan, Director of the Department of Historic Resources.
The Virginia General Assembly established the VBPF in 2010, authorizing the Department of Historic Resources to administer the grants to nonprofit organizations to protect, in perpetuity, battlefield lands associated with the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
DHR easements are held by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources (VBHR), which currently holds easements on approximately 15,900 acres of battlefields in Virginia. To learn more about the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, visit their website.
You can learn more about the American Battlefield Trust, and their projects at battlefields.org.
For more information about the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, visit www.cvbt.org.