NEWS--- National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 3979) Reauthorizes Existing Civil War Matching Grants Program, Adds Rev War and War of 1812 Battlefields

Congress Enacts Landmark Legislation to Preserve America's Endangered Battlefields, The Civil War Trust, December 12, 2014.

The Civil War Trust today applauded members of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for enactment of landmark legislation to preserve America’s endangered battlefields.  The legislation, part of an omnibus lands package included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 3979), reauthorizes a highly successful federal matching grant program for the preservation of Civil War battlefields.  In addition, the bill expands that existing program to provide grants for the acquisition of land at Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields.

“This is a historic moment for the battlefield preservation movement,” remarked Civil War Trust president James Lighthizer.  “For 15 years, the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program has been an invaluable tool for protecting the hallowed battlegrounds of the Civil War.  Now, for the first time, battlefields associated with America’s other formative conflicts, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, will also benefit from this public-private partnership.”

Mary Thompson House on the Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield, Gettysburg, Pa. The Mary Thompson House served as General Robert E. Lee’s Headquarters during the battle. The 4.14-acre Lee’s Headquarters property was acquired by the Civil War Trust in 2014 with a federal matching grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program. (Civil War Trust photo)

The legislation, originally introduced in 2013 as the American Battlefields Protection Program Amendments Act (H.R. 1033), reauthorizes the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program, a matching grants program that encourages private sector investment in historic battlefield protection.  Since the program was first funded by Congress in FY 1999, it has been used to preserve more than 23,000 acres of battlefield land in 17 states.  The battlefields protected through the program include some of the most famous in the annals of America, including Antietam, Md., Chancellorsville and Manassas, Va.; Chattanooga and Franklin, Tenn.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Perryville, Ky.; and Vicksburg, Miss.

Text Source, Image Source and Full Text Available at The Civil War Trust