It remains America’s bloodiest war and cost nearly two million American lives – dividing our nation from 1861-1865. As George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It is for those reasons that a state organization remains devoted to preserving Tennessee’s Civil War history. On August 12, a new round of funding will be available to preserve local sites.

The Tennessee Wars Commission – the Tennessee Historical Commission
(THC) division responsible for preserving the state’s significant military history – recently announced the opening date for this year’s grant cycle for the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund (CWSPF). This year’s grant cycle will open on August 12.

This fund is provided by legislation to the Tennessee Historical Commission who
approves and awards CWSPF grants. The Tennessee Wars Commission administers the application and grant processes. Began in 2013, the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund provides a key source for matching funds for the acquisition and preservation of properties associated with the 38 most significant Civil War sites in Tennessee.

Though no major battles were fought in Lynchburg, Company E of the Confederate Army’s 1st Tennessee Cavalry consisted primarily of Lynchburg residents, according to state historians. A monument to those soldiers still stands on the lawn of the Moore County Courthouse. You can learn more about the complete history of Moore County’s Civil War involvement by clicking here.

Both Civil War and Underground Railroad sites qualify

Tennessee also boasts numerous historic sites associated with Underground Railroad, the network of people – both African American and white – that offered shelter and aid to escaped slaves during the conflict. It ran through West, East, and Middle Tennessee including sites in Nashville along Lower Broadway, which served as the second-largest slave port in Tennessee.

Civil War Sites Preservation Fund grants can also be used to assist in funding the acquisition and protection of Underground Railroad sites eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, or eligible for designation as a National Historic Landmark. Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

This grant will pay a one-to-one, 50 percent match where the grantee provides the match from a non-state source. Applications are scored, rated, and ranked by Tennessee Historical Commission and Tennessee Wars Commission staff
members. The board of the THC has voting approval of eligible grant projects.

“Since its debut in 2013, approximately $18 million in funding from this program has helped save almost one thousand acres of threatened Tennessee battlefield lands,” said Tennessee Historical Commission Director Patrick McIntyre. “Last year, the Wars Commission awarded the largest grant cycle in the history of the fund, totaling $7,319,500, and helped to preserve approximately 187 acres of battlefield properties. This year, projects were focused on core battlefield areas associated with the Shiloh, Stones River, Franklin, and Nashville battlefields,” notes Tennessee Wars Commission Director of Programs, Nina Scall.

The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2024. The grant application process is digital. Interested locals can create an account and complete the application by clicking here. To learn more about the Tennessee Wars Commission, visit their website here. •

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