The state of Pennsylvania has received more than $570,000 to acquire land for Gettysburg National Military Park/NPS

Eleven states on the eastern half of the country have split $3 million in American Battlefield Protection Program grants intended to protect and enhance the country's historic sites.

Among the recipients was the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which received more than $573,000 to acquire two tracts of land adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park with their non-profit partner the American Battlefield Trust.

“Battlefields such as Gettysburg are sacred sites where Americans gave the last full measure of devotion,” said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in announcing the grants, which are distributed by the National Park Service. “These grants enable us to partner with communities and organizations to preserve these places and connect visitors with their historical importance.”

Since 2017, the program has provided $47.8 million in grants, helping states and local communities acquire, preserve, and share the history of the nation’s battlefields. Federal oil and gas revenues from the Outer Continental Shelf provide the lion’s share of deposits into the Land Water Conservation Fund, which is the largest source of funding for ABPP grants.

LWCF also supports tens of thousands of other state and local projects, including the protection of important water sources, expansion of access for hunting and fishing and the preservation of recreational areas. 

Other ABPP grant recipients include:

Connecticut

• $96,679 to the Fairfield Historical Society for the preservation of the Battle of Pequot Swamp, 1637.

• $50,150 to the Ridgefield Historical Society for education and stewardship of the Battle of Ridgefield, 1777.

Florida

• $206,890 to Florida State University for research of a site associated with the Apalachee Revolt of 1647.

• $60,672 to the University of Florida Board of Trustees for research of battlefields associated with the 1614 Spanish Campaign against the Calusas.

Georgia

• $116,247 to the Georgia Southern University Research & Service Foundation for research on two 1864 American Civil War skirmishes in Jenkins and Burke Counties.

Illinois

• $93,220 to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University for research on Fort Henry, which was attacked by the Union Army in 1862.

Maryland

• $67,100 to the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities for research on the battle of St. George Island, 1776.

• $78,000 to the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities for development of the South Mountain Battlefield, 1862.

New Jersey

• $104,410 to the Palisades Parks Conservancy planning on the Revolutionary War Fort Lee Historic Park.

Ohio

• $99,286 to Ball State University for research on the battle of Pechuwe, 1780.

Tennessee

• $137,775 to the City of Parkers Crossroads to protect a 0.55-acre tract of Parker's Cross Roads Battlefield in Henderson County, 1862.

• $259,446 to the City of Chattanooga to protect a 9.09-acre portion of the Wauhatchie Battlefield in Hamilton County, 1863.

Virginia

• $1,053,650 to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to fund the acquisition of a 76.11-acre portion of Bristoe Station Battlefield in Prince William County, 1862-1863.

• $32,274 to the Palisades Parks Conservancy for the development of the Port Republic Battlefields, 1862.

• $39,427 to the Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission for research of the Battle of Berryville, 1862.

• $86,740 to the Friends of Cedar Mountain Battlefield for research on Raccoon Ford, Morton’s Ford, and Sommerville Ford battlefields, 1863-1864.

Vermont

• $66,873 to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum at Basin Harbor, Inc. for research of the Arnold’s Bay Battlefield, 1776.