News Release
NPS Photo / Cowpens National Battlefield
News Release Date: August 2, 2017
Contact: Tom Crosson, 202-208-6843
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) today announced that $1.2 million in American Battlefield Planning grants will be used to help local communities preserve and protect America’s significant battlefields. These grants will support 19 projects to aid in the research, documentation, and interpretation of battlefields in 12 states and two insular areas, representing more than 300 years of history.
From lesser known battles that took place before the American Revolution to those fought as a part of World War II, historians and preservationists will use these funds to study and preserve battlefields that capture the American story across the United States and its territories.
“We are excited to partner with public and private organizations committed to protecting and preserving our country’s historic national treasures,” Acting NPS Director Michael T. Reynolds said. “Through these grants, and the work the grantees are accomplishing, we are ensuring that these hallowed sites are protected and maintained for future generations.”
This year’s American Battlefield Protection Program planning grants provide funding for projects at endangered battlefields ranging from the Indian Wars to the unification of Hawaii and the American Civil War. Earlier this month U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced $7.2 million in additional grants to help identify, preserve, and protect nearly 1,200 acres of battlefield land as part of the American Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants program.
Since 1996, the American Battlefield Protection Program has awarded 579 planning grant awards totaling $19,620,955 to help preserve significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil. Federal, tribal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations, as well as educational institutions are eligible for the battlefield grants, which are awarded annually.
More information about the American Battlefield Protection Program Battlefield Planning Grants is available online at www.nps.gov/abpp/grants/planninggrants.htm.
American Battlefield Protection Program Planning Grants Recipients
| State | Recipient/Project | Amount |
| Connecticut | Fairfield Historical Society The goals of this project are to define the Pequot War Battle of Munnacommock Swamp battlefield boundary using field research and to assess areas of integrity for a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. |
$86,500 |
| Connecticut | Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations This project will create a report and an educational forum to teach and exchange ideas of battlefield preservation while expanding understanding of the Pequot War. Seventeenth-century battlefields, like the Battle for Mistick Fort or the Battle of Fairfield, provide insight into the evolution of military strategy and technology during this early colonial period war. |
$42,200 |
| Connecticut | Old Saybrook Historical Society This project seeks to research the actions at the Pequot War’s Fort Saybrook battlefield and to develop a regional preservation and consortium of stakeholders. This grant product will include both a National Register of Historic Places nomination and the development of outdoor interpretive programs for local museums and schools. |
$43,000 |
| Florida | Florida Museum of Natural History This project will research, identify, and provide the status of all battlefields associated with the English campaign against Spanish Florida that culminated the siege of the Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine. GPS data will be used to confirm the boundaries of associated skirmish sites. This information will be made available to preservation groups and local planning authorities for better site preservation. |
$20,000 |
| Florida | Gulf Archaeology Research Institute A comprehensive study, which will include both the American military and American Indian viewpoints of the Second Seminole War Battle of Wahoo Swamp will be compiled. Additionally, a field survey will be undertaken to establish the battlefield boundaries and create maps in furtherance of implementing a course of preservation for the nearly 6,000 acre site. |
$72,500 |
| Hawaii | University of Hawaii This project seeks to define the Battle of Nu’uanu battlefield’s boundaries and to develop a battlefield preservation plan that will include the identification of key battle features. The local preservation groups seek to preserve and protect this resource while contemplating the potential for future tourism. |
$79,600 |
| Maryland | Preservation Maryland This project seeks to develop a comprehensive preservation plan for the three mountain gaps associated with the Battle of Antietam’s Battle of South Mountain, and after the Shafter Motherway Farmhouse. A single comprehensive plan will give local groups a consensus document to coordinate protection activities. |
$55,000 |
| Montana | University of Montana This project will investigate the Rosebud and Pryor (Arrow) Creek Battlefields in order to determine if tribal forces could have deliberately drawn their enemies to these locations as both a matter of military strategy and because of the sites’ spiritual importance. This project will emphasize the importance of collaborating with the descendant communities to understand such landscapes. |
$53,300 |
| New Jersey | Camden County Historical Society This project will identify and highlight archeological sites potentially where the Battle of Gloucester took place and which prompted General George Washington’s recommendation to the Continental Congress that Marquis de Lafayette be appointed to command. Development over the past 240 years has all but consumed many of the main features of this battlefield. |
$30,000 |
| New Jersey | Civil War Preservation Trust This project will create a preservation plan for the Princeton Battlefield and recommend improvements to the interpretive resources located on the historic site. |
$118,203 |
| North Carolina | Institute for International Maritime Research This project seeks to use new technology and historical research in order to locate, identify, and investigate the remains of USS Louisiana. The project report will be included in a national Register of Historic Places nomination and inclusion in the Cape Fear Civil War Shipwreck District. |
$67,000 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Ships of Exploration and Discovery This project seeks to place the Battle of Saipan coastline area that contains the remains of both American and Japanese aircrafts, ships, and other battle vehicles on the National Register of Historic Places, while supplying additional site identification and documentation of artifacts to provide additional historical context. The information will assist local communities to create better strategies of heritage tourism. |
$27,000 |
| Pennsylvania | Chester County This project will continue an existing preservation plan by examining two properties adjacent to the Battle of Brandywine American Revolutionary War battlefield. A technical report will be written that identifies the defining features of the battle that took place on these properties, recording such details as the location of troop movements, encampments, and other referenced locations in historic letters and reports. This document will be the foundation of future preservation activities, interpretation and community preservation efforts. |
$50,000 |
| Republic of Palau | Ships of Exploration and Discovery This project will produce a report that will include a military terrain analysis to identify the amphibious approaches to the assault beaches in the World War II Battle of Peleliu. Remote sensing technology will also be used to identify previously unknown archeological resources. This underwater work will be useful for heritage tourism and preservation minded groups alike. |
$81,345 |
| South Carolina | Georgia American Revolution Preservation, SC This project seeks to conduct a military terrain analysis of the Revolutionary War Battle of Port Royal Island battlefield in order to define the battlefield boundary and record the battle action within the landscape to assist in all local activities to follow. |
$85,600 |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, Inc. This project will create a master database of South Carolina battlefields, map and document property identification information for future research, and identify potentially eligible properties for the National Register of Historic Places, and provide landholders and local authorities with much needed information and assistance on historical properties. |
$75,000 |
| Texas | Texas Tech University This project seeks to develop a comprehensive plan for the Palmito Ranch American Civil War battlefield and to increase public awareness by developing communication tools using augmented reality technology. |
$81,252 |
| Utah | Northwestern Bands of the Shoshone Nation A battlefield preservation plan will be developed for the Bear River Massacre that can be used by Tribal leaders, landholders, and preservationists to find agreement and action in preserving and protecting this important battlefield. |
$72,000 |
| Virginia | Wheatland Foundation, Inc. This project seeks to produce a preservation plan for the continued protection of this American Revolutionary War battlefield, using both the Battle of Green Spring and the Governor’s Land Archeological District as examples. |
$49,500 |
| Total | $1,189,000 |
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Last updated: August 3, 2017