National Military Park,
National Battlefield,
National Battlefield Park, and
National Battlefield Site are four designations for 24 battle sites preserved by the
United States federal government because of their national importance.
There exist 11 National Battlefields, 9 National Military Parks, 3 National Battlefield Parks and one National Battlefield Site.
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 seem merely to reflect the mood the Congress 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 bears that designation — others previously had, but have since been redesignated. To further confuse matters, some battlefields are designated as National Monuments (such as
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument) or National Historic Sites (such as
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site). The National Park Service does not distinguish among the four designations in terms of their preservation or management policies.
As with all historic areas in the National Park System, these battle sites are automatically listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
See also
