American Battlefield Protection Program, NPS

09/15/2021

Join us on Twitter this time tomorrow night for a #ParkChat with @59NationalParks. We'll explore the "Preservation & Partnership" work that underscores ABPP's mission to preserve battlefields and sites of armed conflict. Can't wait! 🤓

For those new to Twitter, just search #ParkChat and filter by the latest posts to get in on the conversation! You can find us on Twitter at our familiar handle @ABPPNPS

Join us on Twitter this time tomorrow night for a #ParkChat with @59NationalParks. We'll explore the "Preservation & Partnership" work that underscores ABPP's mission to preserve battlefields and sites of armed conflict. Can't wait! 🤓

For those new to Twitter, just search #ParkChat and filter by the latest posts to get in on the conversation! You can find us on Twitter at our familiar handle @ABPPNPS

09/13/2021

#OnThisDay in 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces began bombarding Fort McHenry, in Baltimore. Our friends with the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail are recounting the events of the Battle of Baltimore, check it out 👇

#onthisday Sept. 13, 1814: British ships began a 25-hour bombardment on Fort McHenry.

The fort defended the water approach to the city of Baltimore and the future of the city, and possibly the United States, depended on the outcome.

After the American defeat at Bladensburg, and the British capture and partial burning of Washington, D.C., a loss here would be devastating....

[image: illustration of vessels bombarding Fort McHenry from the Patapsco River at night; credit: Peter Rindlisbacher] #Warof1812 @fortmchenrynps Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine #BattleofBaltimore #StarSpangledTrail

09/12/2021

The Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine occurred #OnThisDay in 1777. British General William Howe’s forces set off to attack the Continental Army, determined to take nearby Philadelphia, the seat of the young nation’s government. Over 30,000 soldiers fought at the Battle of Brandywine, more than any other battle in the American Revolution.

In 2007, the Brandywine Battlefield landscape was just one of four intact, yet largely unprotected battlefields from the Revolutionary War in the entire country. Preservationists across south-east Pennsylvania had a long-term vision when they applied for ABPP funding to preserve the battlefield in 2013. They started with Preservation Planning grants to develop battlefield preservation plans. This led to local nonprofits and government entities applying to four of ABPP’s Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants between 2017 and 2021, protecting over 180 acres of the battlefield in perpetuity. Used together, these grants are powerful tools for preservation.

Shoutout to Delaware County Planning Department, Chester County, Birmingham Township, Chester County Government American Battlefield Trust, Brandywine Conservancy, Chadds Ford Township, and North American Land Trust for their partnership and hard work in preserving this historic landscape. It takes a village! 🙌

Image: Battle of the Brandywine by F.C. Yohn, courtesy the Library of Congress

The Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine occurred #OnThisDay in 1777. British General William Howe’s forces set off to attack the Continental Army, determined to take nearby Philadelphia, the seat of the young nation’s government. Over 30,000 soldiers fought at the Battle of Brandywine, more than any other battle in the American Revolution.

In 2007, the Brandywine Battlefield landscape was just one of four intact, yet largely unprotected battlefields from the Revolutionary War in the entire country. Preservationists across south-east Pennsylvania had a long-term vision when they applied for ABPP funding to preserve the battlefield in 2013. They started with Preservation Planning grants to develop battlefield preservation plans. This led to local nonprofits and government entities applying to four of ABPP’s Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants between 2017 and 2021, protecting over 180 acres of the battlefield in perpetuity. Used together, these grants are powerful tools for preservation.

Shoutout to Delaware County Planning Department, Chester County, Birmingham Township, Chester County Government American Battlefield Trust, Brandywine Conservancy, Chadds Ford Township, and North American Land Trust for their partnership and hard work in preserving this historic landscape. It takes a village! 🙌

Image: Battle of the Brandywine by F.C. Yohn, courtesy the Library of Congress

09/11/2021

We're rounding out our Preservation Planning grant announcement for the year by sending a heartfelt congrats to Vermont Division of Historic Preservation! 🎉They'll use 40K to to digitize historic records from the archives of Mt. Independence, a Rev War fort on Lake Champlain.

To learn more about the project, head to https://go.nps.gov/MtIndependence

@VermontHistoricSites

We're rounding out our Preservation Planning grant announcement for the year by sending a heartfelt congrats to Vermont Division of Historic Preservation! 🎉They'll use 40K to to digitize historic records from the archives of Mt. Independence, a Rev War fort on Lake Champlain.

To learn more about the project, head to https://go.nps.gov/MtIndependence

@VermontHistoricSites

09/10/2021

It’s NPS #FashionWeek and on our runway we’re celebrating the fashions trends of living historians! Now is your chance to break out you’re A-factor (“A” for authentic) kit and strut your stuff. Tell us -- what’s the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of historical garb?

Military uniforms are more than a fashion statement. Bright colors helped combatants distinguish between friend and foe amidst the thick smoke of black-powder weapons. Though Congress adopted a Continental Army uniform in 1779, many Revolutionary War volunteers furnished their own threads until quartermasters could supply demand. Many Confederate troops faced a similar challenge, and were compensated for clothing purchases until fully operational factories and uniform bureaus could suit them for combat. While clothes didn’t exactly make the soldier, uniforms certainly contributed to an esprit de corps!

Our colleagues are showing some team spirit, sharing with us how they Make It Work! For two of them, the fabric is the best and worst part. It has a transformative nature that gives them a tangible connection to history. While Martha Washington loves the luxurious silks, our Civil War soldier bemoans the course wool, which itches terribly against bare skin! Her secret? Full length cotton drawers 😉

All of them see authenticity as essential, not just for fashion’s sake, but to honor the memory of the people they study. For instance, our CW soldier’s goal is to represent the “practice of some women choosing to disguise themselves as men in order to fight” – a hard impression to pull off! Without question, the best part for them all is watching people connect to history through their action, words, and clothing.

#NPSFW #ThrowBackThursday

Images shared with permission from their owners - thanks!

09/09/2021

Eutaw Springs

Yesterday, the Revolutionary War Battle of Eutaw Springs occurred in South Carolina. Our partners in South Carolina have used consecutive ABPP grants to reach their preservation goals at the Eutaw battlefield.

In 2015, we awarded South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust a Preservation Planning grant to create a complete database of battlefields in Berkeley County, SC. Following the success of this project, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History applied for a Battlefield Land Acquisition grant to acquire 10 acres of the Eutaw Springs Battlefield. This property is the site of the British retreat during the battle and is in the core area of the battlefield. This is a great example of how research and preservation planning can lay the groundwork for new battlefield parks – and how ABPP’s grants can help local organizations achieve those preservation goals, one step at a time.

The property is now protected in perpetuity by the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust who holds the conservation easement and is the long-term steward of the property. Great teamwork! 🙌

The battle of Eutaw Springs in the American Revolution took place in South Carolina on Sep 8, 1781. The British held the field at the end of the engagement...

09/08/2021

Today, we're sending our congrats to the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon 💯! We awarded them a Preservation Planning Grant to locate, document, and protect “Miles’s Fight” of the 1878 Bannock War between the US Military and Bannock, Shoshone and Paiute warriors. In an unexpected alliance, the Umatilla had joined forces with Captain Evan A. Miles when the Shoshone-Bannock entered Umatilla lands after resisting confinement at Fort Hall in southern Idaho.

To learn more about this conflict and the tribe's preservation plans, check out https://go.nps.gov/MilesFight

Map of location of Miles's Fight (marked in red) on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, 1878 War Department Campaign Map (Assistant Adjutant General’s Office 1879).

Today, we're sending our congrats to the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon 💯! We awarded them a Preservation Planning Grant to locate, document, and protect “Miles’s Fight” of the 1878 Bannock War between the US Military and Bannock, Shoshone and Paiute warriors. In an unexpected alliance, the Umatilla had joined forces with Captain Evan A. Miles when the Shoshone-Bannock entered Umatilla lands after resisting confinement at Fort Hall in southern Idaho.

To learn more about this conflict and the tribe's preservation plans, check out https://go.nps.gov/MilesFight

Map of location of Miles's Fight (marked in red) on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, 1878 War Department Campaign Map (Assistant Adjutant General’s Office 1879).

09/07/2021

The Battle of Plattsburgh, aka the Battle of Lake Champlain, started #OnThisDay in 1814. Lead elements of the British Army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost arrived in Plattsburg, New York. Although his army totaled approximately 11,000 men and contained a large number of veterans from Napoleonic battlefields, Prévost decided to delay his attack and wait for naval support via Lake Champlain. The downside to this plan, however, was the lake narrows in this region between Crab Island and Cumberland Head, creating a natural defensive position. On September 11th, the American navy used that advantage to defeat the British squadron Prévost had waited for. After this defeat, the British would change strategy and decide to invade the US from the south at New Orleans.

In 2018, NPS ABPP awarded a Battlefield Preservation to the Town of Plattsburg’s to develop an interpretive plan highlighting the role of Crab Island during and after the battle.

To date NPS ABPP has awarded 9 grants in the Lake Champlain area, focusing on sites of armed conflict from the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.

Image: Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain and defeat of the British Army at Plattsburg by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 17th 1814 / painted by H. Reinagle ; engraved by B. Tanner. Courtesy Library of Congress.

The Battle of Plattsburgh, aka the Battle of Lake Champlain, started #OnThisDay in 1814. Lead elements of the British Army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost arrived in Plattsburg, New York. Although his army totaled approximately 11,000 men and contained a large number of veterans from Napoleonic battlefields, Prévost decided to delay his attack and wait for naval support via Lake Champlain. The downside to this plan, however, was the lake narrows in this region between Crab Island and Cumberland Head, creating a natural defensive position. On September 11th, the American navy used that advantage to defeat the British squadron Prévost had waited for. After this defeat, the British would change strategy and decide to invade the US from the south at New Orleans.

In 2018, NPS ABPP awarded a Battlefield Preservation to the Town of Plattsburg’s to develop an interpretive plan highlighting the role of Crab Island during and after the battle.

To date NPS ABPP has awarded 9 grants in the Lake Champlain area, focusing on sites of armed conflict from the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.

Image: Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain and defeat of the British Army at Plattsburg by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 17th 1814 / painted by H. Reinagle ; engraved by B. Tanner. Courtesy Library of Congress.

09/06/2021

On #LaborDay, we remember those who fought for worker's rights during armed conflicts with the US government. Congress designated the federal holiday in 1894, amidst labor conflicts between the American Railway Union and the Pullman company. President Cleveland sent in federal troops, who clashed with strikers, killing 30 people and wounding others. These strikes brought railroad traffic and commerce across the country to a halt, and as a result, national attention to the plight of these workers.

To learn more about the Pullman workers and strike, check out Pullman National Monument, National Park Service . They're celebrating their grand opening as an NPS unit this weekend.

09/03/2021

After the Battle of Yorktown, British and American delegates went to France to begin forging a peace treaty. Nearly two years later, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolutionary War and defined the territorial claims of the US -- from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. The negotiations did not include either side's indigenous American allies and the final treaty contained no mention of American tribes having any rights within the U.S. This document paved the way for American Westward expansion.

#OnThisDay

After the British defeat at Yorktown, the Treaty of Paris was signed #OTD in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States. Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, William Temple Franklin Jr., John Adams, and Henry Laurens negotiated the agreement, which recognized independence and granted the United States significant western territory.

#treatyofparis1783 #revolutionarywarhistory #americanindependence #benjaminfranklin #johnjay #williamtemplefranklinjr #johnadams #henrylaurens

Photo credit: U.S. Senate

09/03/2021

We recently awarded Vanderbilt University with a $99k Preservation Planning grant 👏 They'll partner with Fort Negley Park to create a database of oral history transcripts, original research, and photographs about the fort's African American history. The Civil War fort was built by Black masons, carpenters and laborers. Their descendants are working with the park and university to tell the story of 2,500 Black craftsmen who built Fort Negley and the nearly 13,000 United States Colored Troops (USCT) who defended Nashville during the war.

The university aims to share updates on the project via a 6-part lecture series and scholarly article. We'll be sure to share when those become available! To read more about the project, head to https://go.nps.gov/FortNegley

Fort Negley is also a site on the UNESCO Slave Route project and the NPS's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. To learn more about Fort Negley's Descendants Project head to: http://ftnegley.digitalprojects.network/

Image: United States Colored Troops defend Fort Negley during the Civil War Battle of Nashville, 1864, courtesy the Library of Congress

Vanderbilt University

We recently awarded Vanderbilt University with a $99k Preservation Planning grant 👏 They'll partner with Fort Negley Park to create a database of oral history transcripts, original research, and photographs about the fort's African American history. The Civil War fort was built by Black masons, carpenters and laborers. Their descendants are working with the park and university to tell the story of 2,500 Black craftsmen who built Fort Negley and the nearly 13,000 United States Colored Troops (USCT) who defended Nashville during the war.

The university aims to share updates on the project via a 6-part lecture series and scholarly article. We'll be sure to share when those become available! To read more about the project, head to https://go.nps.gov/FortNegley

Fort Negley is also a site on the UNESCO Slave Route project and the NPS's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. To learn more about Fort Negley's Descendants Project head to: http://ftnegley.digitalprojects.network/

Image: United States Colored Troops defend Fort Negley during the Civil War Battle of Nashville, 1864, courtesy the Library of Congress

Vanderbilt University

09/01/2021

Read to a Goat 2021

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site we love this idea! We'd read Sandburg's "Grass" to the goats. It's a bit dark, but we think they'd thoughtfully contemplate it as they ate 🐐🌾

"Grass"

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask
the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work