The National Park Service has granted $4.5 million in Battlefield Land Acquisition grants to preserve two Civil War battlefields in Virginia. The grants will provide for the purchase of 200 acres of historic land. According to National Parks Traveller:
One of these historic battlefield landscapes is Haskins Farm, a stretch of farmland in Henrico County, Virginia, where Black soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) cleared a stretch of Confederate earthworks, raised mounds of earth built as a barrier for defense in battles, to help win the Battle of New Market Heights. The battle began on September 29, 1864 as Federal troops assaulted Confederate defensive positions to clear a path for the Union capture of Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.
Upon reaching the Confederate lines, Union forces faced heavy fire from an elite group of Texan troops well protected by a series of earthworks stretching the battlefield. As the rest of the Union assault force struggled to advance, the 22nd division focused their assault on the left flank of the Confederate defenses manned by battle-hardened and well-positioned Confederate troops. Against overwhelming odds, the 22nd division succeeded in pushing the Confederates out of an 800-foot-stretch of earthworks, helping to secure a Union victory and putting U.S. forces closer to the capture of Richmond.
This Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant will fund the preservation of 49 acres of the New Market Heights battlefield. An easement granted to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, will preserve the woodland ecosystem and surviving historic Confederate earthworks at New Market Heights for the benefit of the American public.
Today’s awards are to:
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation $660,500.00 for preservation of 49.09 acres at Chaffin’s Farm/New Market Heights Battlefield in Henrico County, Virginia.
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation $3,882,644.81 for preservation of 144.62 acres at Second and Third Winchester Battlefield in Frederick County, Virginia.
