National military park explained

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 39.4703°N -77.7381°W	NB			Civil War	Antietam	https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm
Big Hole		Montana 45.6375°N -113.6436°W	NB			Nez Perce War of the Indian Wars		https://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htm
Brices Cross Roads		Mississippi 34.5061°N -88.7289°W	NBS			Civil War	Brice's Cross Roads	https://www.nps.gov/brcr/index.htm
Chickamauga and Chattanooga		Georgia, Tennessee 34.94°N -85.26°W	NMP			Civil War		https://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
Cowpens		South Carolina 35.1367°N -81.8181°W	NB			Revolutionary War	Cowpens	https://www.nps.gov/cowp/index.htm
Fort Donelson		Tennessee, Kentucky 36.4872°N -87.8608°W	NB			Civil War		https://www.nps.gov/fodo/index.htm
Fort Necessity		Pennsylvania 39.8153°N -79.5894°W	NB			French and Indian War	Fort Necessity	https://www.nps.gov/fone/index.htm
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania		Virginia 38.2931°N -77.4692°W	NMP			Civil War	Fredericksburg Chancellorsville The Wilderness Spotsylvania Court House	https://www.nps.gov/frsp/index.htm
Gettysburg		Pennsylvania 39.8086°N -77.2367°W	NMP			Civil War	Gettysburg	https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
Guilford Courthouse		North Carolina 36.1314°N -79.8464°W	NMP			Revolutionary War	Guilford Court House	https://www.nps.gov/guco/index.htm
Horseshoe Bend		Alabama 32.9708°N -85.7383°W	NMP			Creek War of the Indian Wars	Horseshoe Bend	https://www.nps.gov/hobe/index.htm
Kennesaw Mountain		Georgia 33.9831°N -84.5781°W	NBP			Civil War	Kennesaw Mountain	https://www.nps.gov/kemo/index.htm
Kings Mountain		South Carolina 35.1378°N -81.3894°W	NMP			Revolutionary War	Kings Mountain	https://www.nps.gov/kimo/index.htm
Manassas		Virginia 38.8128°N -77.5217°W	NBP			Civil War	First Manassas Second Manassas	https://www.nps.gov/mana/index.htm
Monocacy		Maryland 39.3712°N -77.3921°W	NB			Civil War	Monocacy	https://www.nps.gov/mono/index.htm
Moores Creek		North Carolina 34.4582°N -78.1103°W	NB			Revolutionary War	Moore's Creek Bridge	https://www.nps.gov/mocr/index.htm
Pea Ridge		Arkansas 36.4542°N -94.0347°W	NMP			Civil War	Pea Ridge	https://www.nps.gov/peri/index.htm
Petersburg		Virginia 37.2194°N -77.3614°W	NB			Civil War	Petersburg campaign	https://www.nps.gov/pete/index.htm
Richmond		Virginia 37.4292°N -77.3736°W	NBP			Civil War	Peninsula campaign and the Seven Days Battles Overland campaign Petersburg campaign	https://www.nps.gov/rich/index.htm
River Raisin		Michigan 41.9136°N -83.3783°W	NBP			War of 1812	Frenchtown	https://www.nps.gov/rira/index.htm
Shiloh		Tennessee, Mississippi 35.1367°N -88.3406°W	NMP			Civil War	Shiloh	https://www.nps.gov/shil/index.htm
Stones River		Tennessee 35.8761°N -86.4308°W	NB			Civil War	Stones River	https://www.nps.gov/stri/index.htm
Tupelo		Mississippi 34.2557°N -88.737°W	NB			Civil War	Tupelo	https://www.nps.gov/tupe/index.htm
Vicksburg		Mississippi, Louisiana 32.3653°N -90.8422°W	NMP			Civil War	Vicksburg campaign	https://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm
Wilson's Creek		Missouri 37.1156°N -93.42°W	NB			Civil War	Wilson's Creek	https://www.nps.gov/wicr/index.htm

Other battlefields in the National Park System

National Memorials

• Arkansas Post National Memorial preserves the site of battles in 1783 and 1863
• Pearl Harbor National Memorial preserves sites related to the Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie

National Monuments

• Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument preserves the site of the Battle of Attu
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument preserves the site of the Battle of Canyon de Chelly
• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves a Spanish fort involved in numerous sieges
• Fort McHenry National Monument preserves Fort McHenry which played a crucial role in the Battle of Baltimore
• Fort Pulaski National Monument preserves Fort Pulaski, site of the Siege of Fort Pulaski
• Fort Stanwix National Monument preserves Fort Stanwix, site of the Siege of Fort Stanwix
• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the Battle of Mill Springs
• Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument includes Wake Island, site of the Battle of Wake Island
• Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument includes Midway Atoll, involved in the Battle of Midway

National Historical Parks

• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battle of Appomattox Court House
• Boston National Historical Park preserves several sites of the American Revolutionary War, including the Battle of Bunker Hill
• Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battle of Cedar Creek
• Colonial National Historical Park preserves the site of the Siege of Yorktown
• Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park preserves Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, involved in battles including the Battle of Fort Sumter and the Battle of Sullivan's Island
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park preserves Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the site of John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry and the Battle of Harpers Ferry
• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park preserves the Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans
• Minute Man National Historical Park preserves sites related to the Battles of Lexington and Concord
• Nez Perce National Historical Park preserves sites of various battles of the Nez Perce War
• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battle of Palo Alto
• Pecos National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battle of Glorieta Pass
• Saratoga National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battles of Saratoga
• Sitka National Historical Park preserves the site of the Battle of Sitka
• War in the Pacific National Historical Park preserves sites related to the Battle of Guam (1944)

National Historic Sites

• Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site preserves the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers
• Fort Bowie National Historic Site preserves the site of the Battle of Apache Pass
• Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site preserves the site of the Sand Creek Massacre
• Springfield Armory National Historic Site preserves the site of Shays' Rebellion
• Washita Battlefield National Historic Site preserves the site of the Battle of Washita River
• Whitman Mission National Historic Site preserves the site of the Whitman massacre

Affiliated areas

The following are affiliated areas of the National Park Services that are battlegrounds

• Eutaw Springs Battlefield preserves the site of the Battle of Eutaw Springs
• Kettle Creek Battlefield preserves the site of the Battle of Kettle Creek
• Parkers Crossroads Battlefield preserves the site of the Battle of Parker's Cross Roads

See also

• National Historical Park
• List of areas in the United States National Park System

External links

• Designation of National Park System Units
• The Origin & Evolution of the National Military Park Idea by Ronald F. Lee (1973)

Notes and References

1. http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/FHPL_AmBtlefieldPrtc.pdf American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996
2. Web site: Park Anniversaries . 13 August 2021.
3. Web site: National Park Service Acreage Reports . 13 August 2021.