American Battlefield Trust

About American Battlefield Trust

A $1,000,000 grant to the US Department of Interior NPS for rehabilitating the Little Round Top visitor use area at Gettysburg National Park stands out in the American Battlefield Trust’s recent record. That award shows how the trust combines battlefield preservation with visitor-use improvements at nationally significant sites. Across the latest grants, the foundation backs land acquisition, conservation easements, appraisals, surveys, archaeological work, and interpretive planning tied to battlefields from the Revolutionary War and Civil War era. It also uses pass-through grants to move preservation dollars to state heritage agencies and battlefield trusts that can complete acquisitions on the ground. Recent awards include $350,000 to Franklin's Charge for the Williams Tract on the Franklin's Charge Battlefield and $249,632 to the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust for the Bradham Tract at Eutaw Springs. The trust also funded preservation work at Gettysburg, Guilford Court House, Antietam, Brandywine, and other battlefield properties. Its grantmaking is tightly linked to protecting historic land and the supporting documentation needed to secure it, including easements, fee coverage, surveys, and transaction costs.

What American Battlefield Trust Funds

Battlefield land protection is the core of the trust’s recent giving. It awarded $350,000 to Franklin's Charge for acquisition of the Williams Tract on the Franklin's Charge Battlefield, and $250,000 to the Commonwealth of Kentucky Kentucky Heritage Council for a pass-through acquisition of the 20.89-acre Madison County Tract at the Richmond Battlefield. These grants pair direct land purchases with intermediary support that helps close preservation transactions. The trust also funds site interpretation and stewardship. It gave $1,000,000 to the US Department of Interior NPS for rehabilitating the Little Round Top visitor use area at Gettysburg National Park, and $63,140 to the US Department of Interior NPS for a long-range interpretive plan at Gettysburg National Military Park. Technical preservation work appears as well: $22,707 went to Kirkby Farm LLC for a conservation easement at Upperville battlefield, and $10,000 supported archaeology through American Veterans Archaeological Recovery.

How American Battlefield Trust Gives