After serving 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Manuel Lujan of New Mexico was named secretary of the interior by George H.W. Bush in 1989. In July 1990, during the 129th anniversary commemorations for the Battle of First Manassas, he responded to costly emergency preservation efforts at that field and the loss of other important historic landscapes by proposing the creation of a federal commission to study the status of Civil War battlefields. As part of this vision, the American Battlefield Protection Program was established within NPS in 1991, and the landmark “Report of the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission” was released in 1993.
Donate today to preserve Civil War battlefields and the nation’s history for generations to come.
The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 50,000 acres in 24 states!
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American Battlefield Trust
Find details and answers to your questions about the new umbrella brand of the Civil War Trust and Revolutionary War Trust.
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The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education.