Ten Facts About the Battle of Ball's Bluff-- Part 9: 'A Preservation Success Story'

FACT #9:  The Ball's Bluff Battlefield has been called by historian  Jim Morgan, a "preservation success story."

Despite the fact  that the site of the early morning skirmishing took place on October 21, 1861, has been lost to development,  a portion of the battlefield remains well preserved today.  The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) owns 223 acres of the original battlefield along with the Ball's Bluff Battlefield National Cemetery, all of which has become Ball's Bluff  Battlefield Regional  Park.

NOVA Parks has cleared trees  to give the battlefield much the same appearance as it would have been 158 years ago, and new improvements, including interpretive trails, guided tours,  and updated signs have made it a significant preservation site.

In addition,  Ball's Bluff Battlefield Park  has begun the practice of commemorating the battle annually in October by holding by holding  battlefield illuminations.

In 1984,  the U.S. Department of the Interior designated 76 acres around the battlefield as a National Historic  Landmark.  In 2017,  the boundaries of   that landmark designation were expanded  to include over  3,300 acres of waterfront land on both sides of the Potomac River and including Harrison Island, Maryland.

--Old Secesh