RICHMOND, Va. — Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that more than $6.1 million in grants will be allocated to preserve 423 acres of Civil War battlefield lands across Virginia. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources will administer the funding through the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund. The 2025 grant round will support 10 projects, allowing nonprofit organizations to acquire land for permanent preservation and battlefield interpretation. Many recipients plan to install interpretive signs and develop tours and pedestrian trails to make the properties accessible to the public.
Three organizations are receiving funding this year: the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, the American Battlefield Trust, and the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation will receive $1,750,000 to acquire the 130-acre Glass Tract in Frederick County, part of the Kernstown I Battlefield. The Friends of Wilderness Battlefield will receive $195,925 for the 40-acre Randolph Artillery Tract in Orange County, located within the Mine Run Battlefield.
The American Battlefield Trust will receive a total of $4,244,750 to fund eight projects, including the acquisition of more than 150 acres of the Bristoe Station Battlefield in Prince William County, 65 acres of the Saltville Battlefield in Smyth County, portions of the Second Manassas Battlefield in Prince William County, and battlefield tracts in James City, York, and Henrico counties. Julie Langan, director of the Department of Historic Resources, said the program puts Virginia at the forefront of battlefield preservation and interpretation. Grants require recipients to donate easements to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, ensuring the land is permanently protected from subdivision and commercial development and safeguarding historic, archaeological, and battlefield landscape resources.
The Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund, established by the General Assembly in 2010, allows the department to award grants for lands associated with the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. No applications for Revolutionary War or War of 1812 sites were submitted in this round.
Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Stefanie Taillon said preserving battlefield lands not only protects historic resources but also provides opportunities for outdoor recreation and engagement with Virginia’s natural landscapes.
Grant recipients were selected based on battlefield significance, proximity to already protected lands, threat of development, and potential for education, research, recreation, or heritage tourism. Preservation also supports open space, agricultural lands, wetlands, timberlands, wildlife habitats, and recreational spaces in and near urban areas. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources oversees historic preservation programs across the state and currently holds easements on approximately 17,150 acres of battlefield lands. For more information, visit dhr.virginia.gov.
Photo: Governor.Virginia.gov
Photo: Governor.Virginia.gov