ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – Governor Glenn Youngkin announced this week that nearly four million dollars in grant funds will be allocated to protect 621 acres of Civil War battlefields throughout Virginia.

Almost 1.7 million dollars will be earmarked for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation for four projects that will protect 383 of those acres.

A $520,000 grant will help the foundation partially fund its acquisition of a historic preservation and open-space easement over the Kaylor Tract in Rockingham County, which spans more than 169 acres. The Kaylor Tract lies completely within the primary site of the 1862 Battle of Port Republic.

Conservation of the tract through the easement will connect adjoining protected historic properties and improve public access to the larger Port Republic Battlefield. 

Another $407,000 will benefit the acquisition of an easement over the Diehl Tract, which lies entirely within the Cross Keys Battlefield and was the site of some of the heaviest fighting during the 1862 battle.