Virginia battlefields receive $4M in grants to protect land across the state

The Virginia Battlefield Fund program has distributed nearly $4 million in grants to help protect 620 acres of land across the state.

The tracts are in Rockingham, Frederick, Henrico, Dinwiddie, Shenandoah and Spotsylvania counties.

For the 2024 grant round, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office reported 10 projects will receive funding through the VBPF to acquire land for the purposes of permanent preservation and battlefield interpretation.

Three nonprofit organizations will be awarded the VBPF grants this year:

• The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation: $1,692,500 in grant funds to support four projects in Frederick, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties
• The American Battlefield Trust: $1,266,500 to support five projects in Dinwiddie, Frederick, Henric and Spotsylvania counties.
• The Capital Region Land Conservancy: $978,000 to support one project in Henrico County

Of the projects receiving awards, seven will use the funds for fee-simple acquisitions of historic properties and three will use the funds toward the purchase of a historic preservation and open-space easement on a given property.

“Virginia is committed to historic preservation and land conservation, and this is made evident by our investments in historic battlefield preservation,” said Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Travis Voyles.

“These significant investments provide opportunities for visitors to learn about and connect with Virginia’s rich history. Students, tourists, and families can come here and learn about the history of our nation and the role that Virginia has played.”

To ensure that the properties will be accessible to the public, grant recipients will install interpretive signs and develop tours and pedestrian trails.

The Department of Historic Resources will administer the $3.9 million in grant funds.

The Virginia General Assembly established the VBPF in 2010 which authorizes the Department of Historic Resources to administer the award grants to private nonprofit organizations for the perpetual protection of Virginia battlefield lands associated with the Revolutionary War (1775- 1783), the War of 1812 and the Civil War (1861-1865).

No applications for sites associated with the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812 were submitted in this grant round.

In accordance with VBPF stipulations, grant recipients must donate an easement to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources for any acreage acquired with the state grant funds. The perpetual easement restricts or prohibits subdivision and commercial development of the land, and contains provisions protecting historic, archaeological and battlefield landscape resources on the property.

Breaking down the 2024 VBPF awards

The Capital Region Land Conservancy

• $978,000 for the acquisition of an easement over the 138-acre Camp Holly Farm in Henrico County. The farm is associated with three major Civil War battles: Deep Bottom I (July 1864), Deep Bottom II (August 1864) and Chaffin’s Farm/New Market Heights (September 1864). This grant award will augment a previous VBPF grant of $300,000 that CRLC received for the purchase of a historic preservation and open-space easement on the property.

Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation

• $520,000 grant to partially fund its acquisition of a historic preservation and open-space easement over the Kaylor Tract in Rockingham County. Spanning more than 169 acres, the Kaylor Tract lies completely within the primary site of the 1862 Battle of Port Republic. Conservation of the tract through the easement will connect adjoining protected historic properties and improve public access to the larger Port Republic Battlefield.
• $115,000 to partially fund a fee-simple acquisition of the Shockey Tract in Frederick County, which will be incorporated into the new Second Winchester Battlefield Park. The 39-acre tract also contains what is believed to be a historic African American cemetery.
• $407,500 for the acquisition of an easement over the 125-acre Diehl Tract, which lies entirely within the Cross Keys Battlefield and was the site of some of the heaviest fighting during the 1862 battle.
• $650,000 for a fee-simple acquisition of the Three Amigos Tract, a 50-acre property located within the site of the Battle of Tom’s Brook, fought in October 1864.

The American Battlefield Trust

• $350,500 for a fee-simple purchase of the 33-acre Jones I Tract, and $100,000 for a fee-simple purchase of the three-acre Chasen Tract in Frederick County. Both the Jones I and Chasen Tracts are situated entirely within the site of the First Battle of Kernstown, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862. With the VBPF award, the Trust will ensure that the properties remain protected from development and be accessible for new educational and interpretive opportunities for the public.
• $250,000 for a fee-simple acquisition of the eight-acre Banks House in Dinwiddie County, which is located within the Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield, the site of The Breakthrough Battle on April 2, 1865.
• $251,500 for a fee-simple purchase of the 34-acre Moore Tract in Henrico County. The tract, situated adjacent to the Richmond National Battlefield Park, is located entirely within the Chaffin’s Farm/New Market Heights Battlefield. A critical part of the Richmond-Petersburg campaign, the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights of 1864 featured multiple units of the United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.), whose presence during this battle and others helped propel the Union Army to victory during the Civil War.
• $315,000 for a fee-simple purchase of the Schroetter Tract in Spotsylvania County, which lies within the Chancellorsville Battlefield and is associated with Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s famous Flank Attack on May 2, 1863. The property was used as a field hospital following the 1863 Chancellorsville Battle.