“It’s been another great year for Tennessee’s “Save Our Battlefields” license plate,” remarked President Hodges, “and we appreciate all who have purchased and renewed the plate. As of the Fall report, there are nearly 1200 “Save Our Battlefield” license plates on the road. Hodges also announced that in 2020, TCWPA will launch a “Driving for Preservation” statewide campaign with the goal of encouraging folks in every county to purchase the plate and display their support for battlefield preservation.
About $15 of every new plate sold comes to TCWPA (and a few dollars more when you renew). This year TCWPA’s license plate fund supported three grants to community preservation groups and two to the American Battlefield Trust to purchase battlefield land at Stones River and Salem Cemetery.
Keep your camera handy. While you’re driving for preservation in Tennessee, please keep an eye out for that Civil War site in your county or elsewhere in the state – then snap a photo of your vehicle with the tag at that site. The tag has been to 40 sites across the state since we began the monthly stories in July 2016. Our goal? A photo of a license plate featuring a site in all 95 counties. And yes – the plate showed up in France and out of state a few times as well – all sites with a Tennessee connection. Just email the photo to info@tcwpa.org and we’ll tell the story about the multi-faceted and often little-known history of the Civil War in Tennessee. (If you’re not receiving the monthly emails, please let us know at info@tcwpa.org.)
You can purchase the specialty license plate at your County Clerk’s office for $35 per year plus your regular registration fees. We suggest you call ahead to make sure the license plate is in stock and if not, they’ll have one within a few days. Proceeds from the sale of the plate help protect and interpret Tennessee battlefields. For more information visit: www.tcwpa.org/license-plate.