(1992) In 1990 Congress authorized a study of Civil War sites in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The study was to accomplish four tasks: identify significant Civil War sites and determine their condition, establish their relative importance, assess short and long term threats to their integrity, and provide alternatives for their preservation and interpretation by Federal, State, and local governments, or by other public or private entities. The study defined the Shenandoah Valley as comprising eight Virginia counties—Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren. Fifteen battle events of major significance were identified and documented and a final report detailing each battlefields' landscape integrity, risk, and preservation needs was presented to Congress in 1992. Definitions In order to focus closely on battlefield lands and their associated properties, the American Battlefield Protection Program has developed program specific definitions for both property types that help them meet their stated mission of promoting battlefield preservation. The definitions are: • Battlefield Land - Sites where armed conflict, fighting, or warfare occurred between two opposing military organizations or forces recognized as such by their respective cultures (not civil unrest). • Associated Sites - Sites occupied before, during, or after a battle at which events occurred that had a direct influence on the tactical development of the battle or the outcome of the battle. A site must be associated with a battle in order to be considered an Associated Site. References Further reading Smith, Timothy B. Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861--2015 (U of Tennessee Press, 2017) 328 pages. External links The American Battlefield Protection Program National Park Service