ECW News: Effort Underway to Expand Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District

An effort is underway to expand the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District into three West Virginia counties and an additional Virginia County. Mike Nickerson, president of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association–representing one of the battlefields that will be affected–joins Emerging Civil War’s Chris Mackowski to discuss the effort.

A rally in support of the legislation will be held in Shepherdstown, WV, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Featured speakers at the event will be U.S. Senator Jim Justice and U.S. Representative Riley Moore, sponsors of the legislation.

The full release from the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association:

The Battlefields Are Here. The Vote Is in Washington!

Join the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. for a support rally at the Bavarian Inn’s Potomac River overlook in Shepherdstown. The event site looks out over a portion of the Shepherdstown Battlefield, one of the battlefields this legislation would bring into the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.

Guests of honor and speakers are U.S. Senator Jim Justice, sponsor of S. 5169, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District Boundary Expansion and Partnership Act of 2026, and U.S. Representative Riley Moore, sponsor of the companion Shenandoah VALOR Act in the House.

Together the bills would add Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties in West Virginia, and Rockbridge County in Virginia, to the Shenandoah Valley National Historic District. They would aid in the protection and interpretation of battlefields and civil war sites throughout the newly added counties, authorize funding for preservation, visitor facilities, grants, and technical assistance, and allow land to be acquired only from willing sellers. All this would enhance the tourism economy of the region. Both measures have bipartisan support from the West Virginia and Virginia delegations.

This is a rally for passage, in one of West Virginia’s most historic towns, with the members carrying them in Congress. Bring neighbors, local leaders, veterans, students, and anyone who believes that the Eastern Panhandle’s Civil War ground belongs in the national story.

Free and open to the public. Outdoor event; dress for the weather.

Bavarian Inn, Potomac River Overlook, 164 Shepherd Grade Road, Shepherdstown, WV 25443.