The National Park Service has awarded more than $550,000 to protect a small but historically significant piece of land at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield in Georgia, the American Battlefield Trust announced today.
What’s Happening: The $555,687 grant comes from the American Battlefield Protection Program and was awarded through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The 2.63-acre parcel is the ground from which Union soldiers launched their attack on a Confederate position known as the Dead Angle on June 27, 1864, during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.
What’s Important: The grant will be matched by donations from members of the American Battlefield Trust and the Georgia Battlefields Association, along with anticipated funds from the state’s Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund. Combined, those sources are expected to permanently protect the land.
Catch Up Quick: The Vince Dooley Battlefield Trust Fund is named for the late University of Georgia football coach, who spent a decade on the American Battlefield Trust board and served as chair of the Georgia Historical Society. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the fund into law last May, and the state legislature funded it earlier this year.
By the Numbers: The American Battlefield Protection Program has helped save roughly 36,000 acres across 20 states since its creation. Georgia has received $5.9 million through the program, protecting 2,431 acres. This latest round of grants also included funding for battlefield land in Mississippi, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and two other Georgia sites: Ringgold Gap and Rocky Face Ridge.
The Path Forward: Legislation is currently pending in both chambers of Congress to reauthorize the American Battlefield Protection Program for the next decade.
