The Tennessee Wars Commission, the Tennessee Historical Commission division responsible for preserving the state’s significant military history, has announced the Tennessee Wars Commission Grant Fund recipients for Fiscal Year 2025.
Since 1994, this grant program has funded approximately one hundred twenty-eight different projects preserving and interpreting the military legacy of Tennessee and Tennesseans. “The Wars Commission Grant Fund provides a unique opportunity for Tennessee communities to enhance their war-related history through the preservation, interpretation, and archaeology of
sites, structures, and battlefields related to the French and Indian War through the Civil War, furthering our collective knowledge of these historical locations and events,” said Wars Commission Program Director, Nina Scall.
The Tennessee Wars Commission Grant Fund provides financial support to coordinate planning, preservation, protection, promotion, and interpretation of structures, buildings, sites, and battlefields related to Tennessee’s military heritage. This grant can fund a wide variety of projects relating to the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the Revolutionary War (1776-1783), War of 1812 (1812-1815), Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and the Civil War (1861-1865). Example projects include, but are not limited to, archaeological surveys and excavations, cemetery preservation, contraband camp preservation and interpretation, graphic displays and interpretative panels, historic markers, and living history and educational programs.
Grant funds totaling $114,500.00 were awarded to four applicants during the 2025 fiscal year:
- The City of Parkers Crossroads will receive $7,500.00 to conduct a geophysical survey to locate the unknown graves of the fallen Confederate soldiers from the December 31, 1862, Battle of Parkers Crossroads. (Henderson County)
- The Friends of Salem Cemetery Historic Site will receive $45,000.00 to conduct a Phase I archaeological survey. (Madison County)
- The Grainger County Government will receive $50,000.00 to create a master plan to guide the development and interpretation of the new public history and Civil War site at Breastworks Island, located within the historic 1863 Battle of Bean Station battlefield. (Grainger County)
- The James K. Polk Memorial Association will receive $12,000.00 to create a new permanent exhibit featuring an electronic, interactive diorama replicating key battles from the Mexican-American War.
Applications for next year’s grant cycle will run from September 1, 2025, to November 21, 2025. For questions regarding the grant process or application procedure, contact Nina Scall, Program Director of the Tennessee Wars Commission via email at N[email protected]. More information is available on the Tennessee Historical Commission website.
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