The National Park Service today announced a $642,970 grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program to help protect 13.2 acres of a Revolutionary War battlefield in Pennsylvania threatened with damage or destruction by urban and suburban development. The grant will preserve a portion of the Brandywine Battlefield, site of a pivotal battle that resulted in a significant loss for the Continental Army led by General George Washington and the Continental Congress temporarily relocating from Philadelphia in 1777.
“Some of the most defining moments in our nation’s history were decided by conflicts that played out on these hallowed grounds,” National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said. “In partnership with the local community and Chester County, this grant will help preserve this battlefield for future generations to reflect on the history it represents.”
The grant is administered by the ABPP, one of more than a dozen programs operated by the National Park Service that provide states and local communities technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities. Consideration for the battlefield land acquisition grants is given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’s 1993 Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields and the ABPP’s 2007 Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.
Grants are awarded to units of state and local governments for the fee simple acquisition of land, or for the non-federal acquisition of permanent, protective interests in land (easements). Private non-profit groups may apply in partnership with state or local government sponsors.
The grants are funded from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to purchase land, water and wetlands for the benefit of all Americans, instead of taxpayer dollars. Since its establishment in 1964, LWCF has conserved land in every state and supported tens of thousands of state and local projects, including protecting important water sources, expanding access for hunting and fishing, preserving historic battlefields, and creating ball fields and other places for kids to play and learn.
