Promoting Parks – 2022 Battlefield Restoration Grant Year in Review

In 2022, the Director of the National Park Service, Chuck Sams III, laid out seven priorities to guide the NPS commitment to preserving and protecting natural and cultural landscapes across America. Every year, the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) strives to achieve these priorities through our grant programs. These priorities were used to frame our reflection of Program accomplishments in 2022 and in consideration of areas for improvement.

Director’s Priority: Invest in the future of parks

The NPS Director identified the agency’s unique role in preserving and protecting land through National Parks for the benefit of all Americans. With this agency priority in mind, NPS ABPP launched the first year of our Battlefield Restoration Grant program which funds the efforts of preservation partners to restore battlefield landscapes to day-of-battle conditions. Though NPS ABPP grants fund the preservation efforts at battlefield landscapes outside the bounds of the National Park Service, all Battlefield Restoration Grants awarded in 2022 supported projects that focused on planning and developing state and local parks, as well as other public battlefield landscapes.

In 2022, NPS ABPP awarded four Battlefield Restoration Grants to two nonprofits for restoration activities at four Civil War battlefields. One grant awarded to the American Battlefield Trust will fund the creation of a Cultural Landscape Report that will assist with the planning of Culpeper Battlefields State Park in Virginia. Through collaborative efforts of local governments and nonprofit partners, this state park will be formed by the amalgamation of over half a dozen properties that witnessed the battle of Brandy Station and Rappahannock Station in 1863. These properties include the location of Buford’s Knoll and Fleetwood Hill, both critical to the history of the Brandy Station battlefield.

Left image
The field headquarters of the 3rd Corps, Army of the Potomac in their winter encampment at Brandy Station Battlefield (1863-1864).
Credit: Library of Congress

Right image
Today’s appearance of the same landscape.
Credit: Clark B. Hall

On June 9, 1863, the ridgeline of Buford’s Knoll served as the commanding position for Confederate artillery and still retains several artillery pits visible today. Fleetwood Hill stands as a prominent component to Brandy Station’s landscape as it served as Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s headquarters from which he coordinated several major cavalry charges. The Trust’s report will also further investigate other resources at Fleetwood Hill including a recently discovered historic well that was present at the time of battle, historic roadbeds, and the location of residential dwellings of those once held in slavery on the property. The multi-layered history of this Civil War landscape will serve not only as an educational and interpretive resource for the local community, but also provide access to scenic nature trails and green space.

NPS ABPP is proud to support the efforts of state and local preservation partners to create publicly accessible and restored battlefield landscapes through Battlefield Restoration Grants. As we plan for the years ahead, NPS ABPP looks forward to continuing this support with the inclusion of Revolutionary War battlefields as the 250th anniversary of America's independence approaches.

Check out a summary of all the Battlefield Restoration Grants awarded in 2022, here!