National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. The designation applies to "sites where historic battles were fought on American soil during the armed conflicts that shaped the growth and development of the United States...."[1]

There are eleven National Battlefields (NB), nine National Military Parks (NMP), four National Battlefield Parks (NBP), and one National Battlefield Site (NBS). The National Park Service does not distinguish among the four designations in terms of their preservation or management policies.

Seventeen sites are from the American Civil War, four from the American Revolutionary War, one from the War of 1812, one from the French and Indian War, and two were attacks on Native Americans. Big Hole is the only site in the Western United States.

In 1890, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was the first such site created by Congress. Originally these sites were maintained by the War Department, but were transferred to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. The different designations appear to represent Congressional attitudes at the time of authorization of each individual site, although "park" appears to be reserved for the larger sites. Only Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, which is small, still bears that designation; others have since been redesignated. Some battlefields are designated as National Monuments, such as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument, and ten forts, several of which saw battle; National Historical Parks, such as Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park; or National Historic Sites, such as Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.

As with all historic areas in the National Park System, these battle sites are automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

List of areas

Name Image Location Type Established[2] Area[3] Conflict Battle(s) Website
Antietam Maryland
39°28′13″N 77°44′17″W / 39.47028°N 77.73806°W / 39.47028; -77.73806
NB August 30, 1890 3,228.89 acres
(13.1 km2; 5.0 sq mi)
Civil War Antietam
Big Hole Montana
45°38′15″N 113°38′37″W / 45.63750°N 113.64361°W / 45.63750; -113.64361
NB June 23, 1910 975.61 acres
(3.9 km2; 1.5 sq mi)
Nez Perce War
of the
Indian Wars
The Big Hole
Brices Cross Roads Mississippi
34°30′22.0″N 88°43′44.0″W / 34.506111°N 88.728889°W / 34.506111; -88.728889
NBS February 21, 1929 1.00 acre
(0.0040 km2; 0.00156 sq mi)
Civil War Brice's Cross Roads
Chickamauga and Chattanooga Georgia, Tennessee
34°56′24″N 85°15′36″W / 34.94000°N 85.26000°W / 34.94000; -85.26000
NMP August 19, 1890 9,523.48 acres
(38.5 km2; 14.9 sq mi)
Civil War Chickamauga

Chattanooga
Cowpens South Carolina
35°08′12″N 81°49′05″W / 35.13667°N 81.81806°W / 35.13667; -81.81806
NB March 4, 1929 841.56 acres
(3.4 km2; 1.3 sq mi)
Revolutionary War Cowpens
Fort Donelson Tennessee, Kentucky
36°29′14″N 87°51′39″W / 36.48722°N 87.86083°W / 36.48722; -87.86083
NB August 10, 1933 1,319.00 acres
(5.3 km2; 2.1 sq mi)
Civil War Fort Donelson

Fort Henry
Fort Necessity Pennsylvania
39°48′55″N 79°35′22″W / 39.81528°N 79.58944°W / 39.81528; -79.58944
NB March 4, 1931 902.80 acres
(3.7 km2; 1.4 sq mi)
French and Indian War Fort Necessity
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Virginia
38°17′35″N 77°28′09″W / 38.29306°N 77.46917°W / 38.29306; -77.46917
NMP February 14, 1927 8,405.46 acres
(34.0 km2; 13.1 sq mi)
Civil War Fredericksburg

Chancellorsville

The Wilderness

Spotsylvania Court House
Gettysburg Pennsylvania
39°48′31″N 77°14′12″W / 39.80861°N 77.23667°W / 39.80861; -77.23667
NMP February 11, 1895 6,032.07 acres
(24.4 km2; 9.4 sq mi)
Civil War Gettysburg
Guilford Courthouse North Carolina
36°7′53″N 79°50′47″W / 36.13139°N 79.84639°W / 36.13139; -79.84639
NMP March 2, 1917 253.54 acres
(1.0 km2; 0.4 sq mi)
Revolutionary War Guilford Court House
Horseshoe Bend Alabama
32°58′15″N 85°44′18″W / 32.97083°N 85.73833°W / 32.97083; -85.73833
NMP July 25, 1956 2,040.00 acres
(8.3 km2; 3.2 sq mi)
Creek War
of the
Indian Wars
Horseshoe Bend
Kennesaw Mountain Georgia
33°58′59″N 84°34′41″W / 33.98306°N 84.57806°W / 33.98306; -84.57806
NBP February 18, 1917 2,913.63 acres
(11.8 km2; 4.6 sq mi)
Civil War Kennesaw Mountain
Kings Mountain South Carolina
35°8′16″N 81°23′22″W / 35.13778°N 81.38944°W / 35.13778; -81.38944
NMP August 10, 1933 3,945.29 acres
(16.0 km2; 6.2 sq mi)
Revolutionary War Kings Mountain
Manassas Virginia
38°48′46″N 77°31′18″W / 38.81278°N 77.52167°W / 38.81278; -77.52167
NBP November 14, 1936 5,073.44 acres
(20.5 km2; 7.9 sq mi)
Civil War First Manassas

Second Manassas
Monocacy Maryland
39°22′16″N 77°23′31″W / 39.37115°N 77.39208°W / 39.37115; -77.39208
NB June 21, 1934 1,646.88 acres
(6.7 km2; 2.6 sq mi)
Civil War Monocacy
Moores Creek North Carolina
34°27′29.6″N 78°06′37.1″W / 34.458222°N 78.110306°W / 34.458222; -78.110306
NB June 2, 1926 87.75 acres
(0.4 km2; 0.1 sq mi)
Revolutionary War Moore's Creek Bridge
Pea Ridge Arkansas
36°27′15.″N 94°02′04.9″W / 36.45417°N 94.034694°W / 36.45417; -94.034694
NMP July 20, 1956 4,300.35 acres
(17.4 km2; 6.7 sq mi)
Civil War Pea Ridge
Petersburg Virginia
37°13′10″N 77°21′41″W / 37.21944°N 77.36139°W / 37.21944; -77.36139
NB July 3, 1926 9,368.34 acres
(37.9 km2; 14.6 sq mi)
Civil War Petersburg campaign
Richmond Virginia
37°25′45″N 77°22′25″W / 37.42917°N 77.37361°W / 37.42917; -77.37361
NBP March 2, 1936 8,168.87 acres
(33.1 km2; 12.8 sq mi)
Civil War Peninsula campaign
and the
Seven Days Battles

Overland campaign

Petersburg campaign
River Raisin Michigan
41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W / 41.91361; -83.37833
NBP October 22, 2010 42.18 acres
(0.2 km2; 0.1 sq mi)
War of 1812 Frenchtown
Shiloh Tennessee, Mississippi
35°08′12″N 88°20′26″W / 35.13667°N 88.34056°W / 35.13667; -88.34056
NMP December 27, 1894 9,323.70 acres
(37.7 km2; 14.6 sq mi)
Civil War Shiloh
Stones River Tennessee
35°52′34″N 86°25′51″W / 35.87611°N 86.43083°W / 35.87611; -86.43083
NB March 3, 1927 709.49 acres
(2.9 km2; 1.1 sq mi)
Civil War Stones River
Tupelo Mississippi
34°15′20.4″N 88°44′13.2″W / 34.255667°N 88.737000°W / 34.255667; -88.737000
NB August 11, 1933 1.00 acre
(0.0040 km2; 0.00156 sq mi)
Civil War Tupelo
Vicksburg Mississippi, Louisiana
32°21′55″N 90°50′32″W / 32.36528°N 90.84222°W / 32.36528; -90.84222
NMP February 21, 1899 2,524.11 acres
(10.2 km2; 3.9 sq mi)
Civil War Vicksburg campaign
Wilson's Creek Missouri
37°6′56″N 93°25′12″W / 37.11556°N 93.42000°W / 37.11556; -93.42000
NB April 22, 1960 2,407.79 acres
(9.7 km2; 3.8 sq mi)
Civil War Wilson's Creek

Other battlefields in the National Park System

See also

Notes

  1. American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996
  2. "Park Anniversaries". Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. "National Park Service Acreage Reports". Retrieved August 13, 2021.
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