Military Parks of the United States
Vicksburg National Military Park ,
Illinois Memorial
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
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
[1]
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
[2]
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
[3]
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
[4]
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
[5]
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
[6]
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
[7]
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
[8]
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
[9]
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
[10]
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
[11]
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
[12]
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
[13]
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
[14]
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
[15]
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
[16]
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
[17]
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
[18]
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
[19]
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
[20]
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
[21]
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
[22]
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
[23]
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
[24]
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
[25]
Other battlefields in the National Park System
National Memorials
National Monuments
National Historical Parks
National Historic Sites
Affiliated areas
The following are affiliated areas of the National Park Services that are battlegrounds
See also
Notes
External links