Funding Request for Battlefields Reaches Record High

WASHINGTON, DC-The fight to preserve the thousands of acres that served as sites of numerous Civil War skirmishes has gotten a helping hand from the Bush Administration. The president has asked Congress to approve $5 million in federal matching grants to the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program in the FY 2005 budget. The White House’s recent budget request is $3 million more than what was asked for in the previous budget, and if approved, it will be the largest sum ever appropriated for the program in a single year.

“Today’s announcement further underscores the Administration’s commitment to protecting our nation’s endangered Civil War battlegrounds,” Civil War Preservation Trust president James Lighthizer says. CWPT is a nonprofit organization that has culled funds for its fight to save hallowed ground from development from the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program, as well as from private donations and state and local conservation programs. The organization saved 211 acres of battleground in 2003 alone.