Richmond National Battlefield Park at sundown/NPS

A grant of $439,725 grant from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program will help protect 50 acres of Cold Harbor Battlefield in Hanover County, Virginia, a significant Civil War battlefield threatened with damage or destruction by suburban development. The grant will be used to acquire a portion of the battlefield, and the property will be protected in perpetuity with a conservation easement held by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

“Through public-private partnerships, local communities are able to permanently protect and preserve historic battlefield lands,” National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela said. “Future generations will be able to visit and learn about the events that helped shape this country.”

The American Battlefield Protection Program’s Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant program provides up to 50 percent in matching funds for state and local governments to acquire and preserve threatened Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War Battlefield land through the purchase of land in fee simple and permanent, protective interests in land. Eligible battlefields are listed in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’s 1993 “Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields” and the 2007 “Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.”

Cold Harbor Battlefield
Grantee: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Land Acquired: Cold Harbor Battlefield, Hanover County Tract, 50.09 acres
Project Partner: American Battlefield Trust and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Amount: $439,725.00

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31, 1864, to June 12, 1864, just outside of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Cold Harbor was the final battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign, which began in early May 1864 with the Battle of the Wilderness. The main part of the Battle of Cold Harbor was a frontal assault on Confederate lines that ended in nearly 7,000 Union casualties in less than an hour. It was one of the most brutal confrontations of the war.