The National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program awarded a $4.6 million Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant to protect 250.84 acres of the Williamsburg Battlefield in York County.

The wooded property witnessed several centuries of occupation and struggle, including fierce fighting during the Civil War’s 1862 Peninsula Campaign.

“This grant represents the largest single grant in the American Battlefield Protection Program’s history and underscores the value of historic properties and green spaces outside federal lands,” said NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge. “The preservation of this battlefield is the result of nearly a decade of organizing and planning at the local, state and national levels and exemplifies what we can achieve when we work across boundaries.”

The land is rich with potential and holds many important stories, according to a NPS release. On the morning of May 5, 1862, an enslaved person approached Union commanders at Williamsburg with some vita...