A prominent family with historic ties to the national military park in Gettysburg, Pa. has settled a lawsuit over its claims that the National Park Service allowed a $50 million collection of Civil War artifacts to deteriorate.

The family of Angela Rosensteel Eckert donated the collection to the park service in 1971. But last year in a lawsuit filed In federal court in Harrisburg, Pa., Eckert and eight relatives sought to revoke the gift.

According to John Fenstermacher, the lawyer for the family, his clients agreed to drop the suit Wednesday after the government pledged to move much of the collection from the existing visitor center to an interim storage facility under construction at the park. That facility will be equipped with environmental controls that will prevent further harm to the artifacts.

Under the settlement, which must be filed with the court, the artifacts in most danger of further deterioration will be moved to the interim facility. The entire collection eventually will be moved to a new visitor center-museum complex that is expected to be developed within a few years.

The settlement was negotiated with the office of David Barasch, the US. attorney in Harrisburg. He could not be reached for comment.

The 38,000-piece collection is the largest and most valuable in the country, according to Fenstermacher. The collection includes the saddle cover used by President Lincoln when he rode on horseback from the town of Gettysburg to the national cemetery to deliver the Gettysburg Address in 1863. There are also rifles, cannons, drums, uniforms, maps, photographs and paintings.

Eckert, 81, who still lives in the Gettysburg area, opposed the park service plan to build a new visitor center and museum. The existing center once served as her home. Her father, George Rosensteel, built the house in 1920. It was sold to the government in 1971. The park service will demolish the center and restore the ground to its 1863 condition.

The Gettysburg battle was fought in July 1863. Eckert's great uncle, John Rosensteel, began collecting the artifacts immediately after the three-day battle concluded.

The settlement provides that the existing visitor center plaques commemorating Rosensteel family members will be moved to the new center. Rep. Ron Klink, D-Pa., introduced legislation naming the new center after Eckert's late parents, George and Emily Rosensteel.

"We sincerely hope that the eyes of our government are now focused on the proper care of our country's history and that this type of neglect will never happen again," Eckert said.