DHR recorded four new easements between July and September 2021 donated to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources. All of them protect portions of Civil War battlefields and were partially funded by the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund. Conveyance of a perpetual easement on a targeted property is a condition of these grants.

Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation donated easement on:

• River Road, New Market Battlefield, Shenandoah Co.: The easement covers the River Road Tract, 13.39 acres heavily fought over during the Battle of New Market, in May 1864. The battle is notable for the involvement of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, who were integral to a Confederate victory. Today’s historic battlefield landscape contains wooded cover with a dense understory of shrub, scrub, and brush. The alignment of Breckinridge Lane (known as River Road prior to and during the Civil War), an extant circulation feature that was crucial to the battle and movement of troops, remains intact on the property. The open-space character and limited modern development that have occurred on the property contribute to the integrity of the battlefield landscape. SVBF plans to install pedestrian trails and interpretative signs on the property in support of it serving as a link in SVBF’s proposed greenway connecting the Virginia Museum of the Civil War with the town of New Market.

The Capital Region Land Conservancy donated an easement on:

• Long Bridge Road Tract, Deep Bottom I Battlefield, Henrico Co: This easement protects 38.5 acres that were the site of five different Civil War battles: Deep Bottom I (July 1864), Deep Bottom II (August 1864), Glendale (1862), Malvern Hill (1862) and Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road (1864). The Tract is unimproved and contains a number of documented archaeological sites, including deposits associated with temporary prehistoric occupation and resource extraction. Artifacts indicate repeated land use from the Late Archaic (circa 3000 B.C.E.) through the Late Woodland (circa 1600 A.D.) periods. Sites also include features associated with domestic quarters and work areas possibly occupied by enslaved people resident on the property, which was owned and occupied by an African-American family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The American Battlefield Trust conveyed easements on two properties:

• Pardue Tract, Second Manassas Battlefield, Prince William Co.: The easement protects 5.8617 acres of historic landscape that was the site of Battle of Second Manassas and is located near where Union General John Pope’s army engaged Confederate Major Generals Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and James Longstreet on August 28-30, 1862, a decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign. To the north and east, the Pardue Tract shares a boundary with the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
• Cedar Run Tract, Cedar Mountain Battlefield, Culpeper Co.: This easement protects 86.5 acres associated with the Cedar Mountain Battlefield, part of R. E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Campaign from June to September, 1862. The tract consists of open agricultural fields and mature forest cover, helping to preserve the rural character of this portion of Culpeper. The Battle of Cedar Mountain, fought on Aug. 9, 1862, pitted the forces of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson against those of Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks. The tract is located on U.S. 15, placing it within the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Historic Area. The ABT intends to create low-impact trails and install signage for battlefield interpretation, and to open the property to the public for education and passive recreation.