RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Two Civil War battlefields in North Carolina will add more than 50 acres (20 hectares) with the help of federal grants.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Averasboro Battlefield will gain around 49 acres (19 hectares), while Bentonville Battlefield will get 2.8 acres (1 hectares).
The battlefields are 25 miles (40 kilometers) apart and were the sites of back-to-back battles in March 1865, just before the war ended.
The three grants totaled approximately $165,000 and required matching funds, raised by the Washington-based American Battlefield Trust.
Spokeswoman Nicole Ryan says the trust has spent more than $11 million acquiring land for battlefield preservation in North Carolina.
State Department of Natural and Cultural Resources spokeswoman Michele Walker says the department has long tried to add property to the battlefields.
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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
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