--(1) Cedar Creek mining vote postponed ----------------------------------------------------
Frederick board postpones vote on quarry plan
Supervisors want further study
By Robert Igoe
04/24/2008
The Winchester Star
http://www.winchesterstar.com/article_details.php?ArticleID=6253
Winchester - Nearly two years after one Frederick County board
recommended the denial of a request to expand a local quarry,
another board is still grappling with the proposal.
At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors
held a public hearing on a request by O-N Minerals Chemstone,
a subsidiary of Carmeuse Lime & Stone based in Belgium , to
rezone 639 acres to the north and south of its current quarry
operations west of Middletown from Rural Areas to Extractive Manufacturing.
After four hours of comments from citizens and company representatives,
the supervisors decided to table a vote on the request until their
May 28 meeting.
"I believe the devil is in the details," said Supervisor
Gary Lofton when the board called for a vote at 11:30 p.m. "I
do not think that I am comfortable that the applicant has provided
all of the information we need. They are trying, but they're not
there yet. In order to make an informed decision, I want to see
the rest of this information."
O-N Minerals Chemstone is seeking the rezoning so it can mine
some seams of high-grade limestone on property that it owns.
The county Planning Commission recommended denial of the rezoning
request following a public hearing on June 7, 2006, during which
57 people spoke for and against the plan.
Chemstone says the mining operations will be conducted with no
ill effects on nearby residents or historic properties, including
the Cedar Creek Battlefield, the Belle Grove Plantation, and two
family cemeteries.
One of the plan's chief opponents is Preserve Frederick, a citizens'
group that believes no amount of safeguards can guarantee the
protection of the historic properties or local water supplies.
Deputy Planning Director Michael Ruddy told the supervisors that
he reviewed the company's latest proffer statement, submitted
on Friday, and said that while the proposal attempts to address
issues regarding transportation, historic areas, noise, dust,
water supplies, and other concerns, the statement is still incomplete
and lacks enough specifics on how these issues would be mitigated.
"We want to make sure these impacts are analyzed before this
can be approved," Ruddy said. "The board must examine
these mitigation efforts."
In their presentation, Chemstone officials attempted to clarify
the issues.
General Manager Spencer Stinson said just 13 percent of the rezoned
property will be used for actual mining, and that the mining will
be conducted in three phases.
The first phase will focus on the southern portion of the property,
with operations in the northern end to begin in two additional
phases beginning no earlier than 10 and 20 years later for properties
north and south of Chapel Road , respectively.
Once the mining is finished, Stinson said, the pits will create
five lakes and reservoirs that will be used for public water supplies
and wildlife habitats.
The Frederick County Sanitation Authority already uses water from
existing quarry pits, and Stinson said that procedure supplies
30 percent of the county's water and saves the county $1 million
in water-purchasing costs.
Stinson also said Chemstone provides 28 jobs that will be preserved
with the rezoning near Middletown .
The local company also operates mining facilities in Strasburg
and Clear Brook, and has 210 people working at its three facilities.
These employees earn a payroll of $10 million annually, Stinson
said.
In the latest proffer statement, he said, the company agreed to
limit its vehicle traffic to 200 truckloads per day, averaged
over 30 days, and to limit access to the facility to its current
entrance on McCune Road .
Stinson also said the county government would have immediate access
to company records to verify compliance with the traffic limits.
Among other proffers, Stinson said Chemstone has promised to provide:
* Three groundwater monitoring wells.
* Earthen berms around active quarry pits, which would be 10 to
30 feet in height and be covered with decorative vegetation.
* Assurances that the rezoned property would be used for mining
operations only.
* Creation of an 8-acre historic preserve.
* An architectural survey of all properties in the rezoned areas
prior to any mining operations.
* Preservation and maintenance of the historic Nisewander and
Tabler family cemeteries on the property.
Of the 400 residents who attended the public hearing, 60 signed
up to speak.
Several of the speakers were Chemstone employees and their families,
who praised Chemstone as a responsible and generous employer.
"Chemstone is a good neighbor and a good friend," said
Kermit Orndorff. "When I wanted to build a home for my family,
they gave me stone. Two of my children were awarded scholarships
through Chemstone. When I was a Girl Scout leader, they opened
their hearts and sponsored a trip for us. They donated stone for
a parking lot at the church where I worship. I'm one of many people
they helped."
Mary Rutherford, a truck driver from Berryville, said the company
is an important employer.
"We need to keep these quarries open," she said. "This
company puts food on a lot of people's tables - not just employees,
but companies that work with them. What will people do when stone
isn't available to build their homes?"
Among those who opposed the request was Millbrook High School
junior Calvin Hunt.
" Frederick County is a great place to live," he said.
"I want to live here and raise a family. But I want to live
in a place that protects its natural and historic resources. These
resources would be destroyed before my children would be able
to enjoy them."
Richard Dye, who owns property adjoining the rezoning area, worries
how the operations would hurt his future plans.
"I hope to build my retirement home on this property, and
sell 5-acre lots to other people who have the same dream,"
he said. "This proposal means that those houses can't be
built."
Two supervisors, Philip Lemieux and Bill M. Ewing, opposed tabling
the rezoning request.
Lemieux said that after waiting two years to take action, and
enduring a four-hour public hearing, the residents deserved a
final decision.
"There are enough flaws in this proffer statement,"
he said. "I'd rather see this denied, but able to come back
within a year."
"These people have waited two years for an answer,"
Lofton said. "To put it off another year or so isn't right."
Attending the meeting in the Frederick County Office Complex were
Lofton, Lemieux, Ewing , Richard C. Shickle Sr., Gene E. Fisher,
Gary W. Dove, and Charles S. DeHaven Jr.
- Contact Robert Igoe at rigoe@winchesterstar.com
--(2) Restoring the Gettysburg battlefield ----------------------------------------------------
Civil War buffs couldn't see history for the trees
By Randy Dotinga
4/23/2008
Christian Science Monitor (National)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0423/p13s02-lign.html
GETTYSBURG, PA. - Even though he spends his time guiding tourists
through the nooks and crannies of a Civil War-era house, retired
librarian Harry Conay believes that nature can trump history.
He's watched in horror as the National Park Service has tried
to make the Gettysburg National Military Park look more like it
did on three July days in 1863. Officials are nearly a third of
the way through cutting down 576 acres of trees that didn't exist
back then.
Another 275 acres will be replanted with trees and orchards that
disappeared over the past 15 decades. But it's not enough to please
Mr. Conay, who says the battlefield's history is partly told through
the healing of the earth. After all, the trees managed to thrive
on land ravaged by a deadly struggle between two immense armies.
"During those 140 years, this has become something more than
a battlefield lesson," Conay says from behind the gift-shop
counter at the historic house where he serves as a guide.
But the trees continue to fall, despite a flurry of protests amid
preparations for this month's opening of a $103 million visitors
center and museum. And as the 150th anniversary of the Civil War
approaches, at least one other battlefield is poised to restore
history by chopping down countless trees.
To supporters, including park officials and amateur historians,
the Gettysburg project makes perfect sense because it allows visitors
to better understand the past. The enormous challenges facing
generals and soldiers, they say, will finally be clear.
"It's not just about trying to create a postcard picture
to make something look like it did 150 years ago," says Don
Barger, a regional director with the National Parks Service, which
runs the military park. "It's about protecting the elements
necessary to tell the story."
New views on the challenge of the battle
The park, in southern Pennsylvania , draws about 2 million visitors
each year to marvel at a crucial and bloody battle. The South,
which had come close to forcing the North to the bargaining table,
lost the battle and never recovered.
Dozens of tour buses traverse the 6,000-acre military park each
day, bringing visitors to admire hundreds of statues and monuments
and view battle landmarks such as Little Round Top and the Peach
Orchard.
As part of the restoration project, park officials digitized 19th-century
maps and conducted "terrain analysis" a military
strategy taught at West Point to figure out which features
of the landscape affected the battle. Then the officials made
choices about adding or removing everything from trees and fences
to roads and orchards.
The "rehabilitation" project about halfway completed
will eliminate 576 acres of trees while adding 115 acres
of trees and 160 acres of orchards. Thirty-nine miles of "historic"
fencing will be erected, too. In addition, power poles have been
removed along with a car dealership and a motel.
Among other things, the park service has cut down a stand of trees
at Devil's Den, uncovering more of the rocky patch where Civil
War photographers captured stunning images of the carnage.
Elsewhere, fences will be built to show the challenges facing
Confederate troops who tried to ambush Union soldiers by crossing
a wide field. According to the park's plan, the fences will allow
visitors to see that the soldiers in the famous Pickett's Charge
had to pick their way through: 12 small fields instead of one
big one.
William G. Jeff Davis, an amateur historian in Gettysburg , says
the restoration project has allowed him and others to better understand
the maneuvers of the armies.
"It's forcing historians to take another look and perhaps
even rewrite their histories to an extent. To me, that's exciting,"
says Mr. Davis (no relation to Confederate President Jefferson
Davis).
Mr. Barger, the park service regional director, says battlefield
restoration allows visitors to fully understand moments of history.
At Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee , for instance,
a cotton field still stands where it did at the end of 1862. "There
are records about the cotton flying in the air because of all
the bullets going every which way," Barger says. "It's
part of telling the story to say, 'That's where it was,' and there
it is."
Critics say, 'get rid of' all modernity, then
But critics of the Gettysburg project are unimpressed and have
made their views known in letters to the editor and online comments.
"If you're a true preservationist, then all the monuments
and access roads need to go because they weren't there in 1863,"
wrote a Gettysburg native to an Illinois paper. "For that
matter, most of the population, infrastructure, and business wasn't
there either. If you are a true preservationist, then get rid
of it all."
Barger acknowledges that cutting down trees seems an unusual thing
for the park service to do. "It is one of those things which
seems like a contradiction at first, but only if you have a narrow
scope of what the national park system protects."
The park service preserves history in addition to nature, Barger
says. Indeed, 60 percent of sites preserved by the park service
are historic, not natural treasures such as Yosemite or the Grand
Canyon , he says.
More battlefields will be spiffed up themselves as the 150th anniversary
of the Civil War approaches in 2011, and controversies over restoration
projects may be inevitable. A debate is already under way at Vicksburg
National Military Park in Mississippi , where Union and Confederate
troops battled over access to the Mississippi River .
Under one proposal, the park would cut down stands of oak and
hickory trees to allow visitors to better understand the Confederate
defenses.
The key to battlefield rehabilitation, Barger says, is to create
spots where visitors can "almost feel the bullets."
"That," he says, "is what you want to have happen
in a battlefield."
At historic sites, looking forward while looking back
Several U.S. historic sites are being given new looks. A few notable
examples:
· The Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania
unveiled a $103 million museum and visitors center in a "soft
opening" earlier this month. A grand opening will be held
in September, when visitors will be able to see the famous cyclorama
painting of the pivotal battle, restored to the way it looked
in 1884.
· As part of a $110 million restoration project, a new
visitors center and museum opened at George Washington's Mount
Vernon Estates and Gardens in 2006. Visitors to the Virginia estates
can watch documentary films, wander through galleries, and look
at three life-sized models of America 's first president, each
created with the assistance of a forensic anthropologist.
· Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants first encountered
New York City and America , opened a newly restored ferry building
on its south side to visitors last year and is raising money to
restore more buildings.
· At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia ,
construction has begun on a $55 million visitors center and museum
that will include hands-on activities for children.
· A $14 million visitors center opened in 2005 at Fort
Necessity , the Pennsylvania site of the first battle of the French
and Indian War. It draws about 90,000 visitors a year.
--(3) Battlefields as green space ----------------------------------------------------
Battlefields as green space
Hanover's Cold Harbor made list of 10 most endangered
By PHIL RIGGAN
04/22/2008
Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports/outdoors.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-04-22-0010.html
The name " Cold Harbor " is said to originate from a
pre-Civil War tavern that was a haven for travelers seeking food
and shelter from the cold.
The area still acts as a haven -- nearly 150 years after the War
Between the States -- but mostly for plants, animals and people
looking for peace and quiet in nature.
The Richmond National Battlefield Park protects more than 2,000
acres of land in its 11 units spread throughout Richmond and the
counties of Chesterfield , Hanover and Henrico. Other than
a few small parking lots, tour roads and visitors centers, most
of that land is essentially green space -- protected nature preserve.
Civil War parks "act a green space where trees and plants
can grow in an area where development pressures are high,"
said Kristen Allen, natural resource management specialist for
the park.
More than 280 acres of that sacred Civil War soil are found at
the Cold Harbor Battlefield in Hanover County .
In its annual report, "History Under Siege," the Civil
War Preservation Trust listed Cold Harbor in the top 10 most endangered
battlefields, stating that "pressure in the Richmond area
is so great that only about 300 acres of what was once at least
a 7,500-acre battlefield are currently preserved."
Robert Krick, historian for the Richmond National Battlefield
Park said "the purpose of the list is to increase national
awareness. The upper portion of the battlefield [to Bethesda Church
] is gone. The area is getting squeezed [by development].
"Cold Harbor is considered the classic example in Virginia
of trench warfare," Krick said. The prolonged battle there
May 31 to June 12, 1864, saw combined casualties for Confederate
and Union troops reach more than 16,000.
Krick enhanced the park's historical value with this quote from
"Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications
in the Overland Campaign," by Earl J. Hess: "Although
small in comparison to the total volume of works constructed here,
the Cold Harbor Unit protects the most singular set of Civil War
fieldworks we have."
PUBLIC AWARENESS
The Civil War Preservation Trust works closely with the local
governments and park services to help improve public awareness.
"Sometimes people forget where the battlefields are located,
and why they are important," said Mary Koik, spokesperson
for the Trust.
"We hope communities weigh the significance of the battlefields
when making decisions on development," she said, adding "we
spend most of our money preserving land."
On the subject of nature preservation, Koik said that viewing
"the parks as open space, green space, helps everyone --
you want to preserve something. More bang for your buck."
BATTLEFIELD AS NATURE PRESERVE
Allen helped answer some general questions she often fields from
park visitors about the way the parks are maintained:
"Why don't they cut the grass or clean up the dead trees?"
RNBP lacks the personnel to maintain all of its land at the same
level. Lawn areas that are around main visitor areas are maintained
like one would maintain their yard, she said.
However, larger historic fields serving are typically maintained
as either agricultural fields or tall native grass meadows, which
provides several benefits:
· Looks more like a fallow farm field that might have existed
during the 1860s than a manicured lawn;
· Requires less fuel, oil, and avoids creating air pollution
associated with using tractors;
· Requires no lime or fertilizer;
· Provides much needed habitat for ground nesting birds,
small mammals and reptiles.
In addition, forested areas are divided into "managed forest"
and "natural zones," she said.
Managed forest occurs on some of the park's earthworks to help
prevent erosion and protect the embankments. In natural zones,
dead trees are usually left standing and downed wood is usually
left on the ground, providing an important habitat for cavity
nesting birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and insects.
"How do you maintain the battlefield as it was laid out for
the Civil War?"
Park historians, including Krick, spend time researching historic
photos, maps and accounts to determine exactly what the landscape
looked like at the time of the Civil war, Allen said.
Once they agree on a battlefield layout, they next develop a cultural
landscape report that incorporates all historical elements with
the current landscape conditions, physical history of the site,
and makes recommendations for how to rehabilitate the historic
landscape.
"In general this seems to strive for making the landscape
look just as it did during the 1860s unless there is some issue
with feasibility or biological resources," Allen said.
Her example: a riparian area may have been cleared of forest vegetation
during the Civil War, but that practice is now known to be environmentally
unsound.
"How you maintain the Civil War earthworks?"
"Rain and wind are the two elements that cause erosion to
areas of bare soil," Allen said, "especially when those
areas are sloped as earthworks."
The park primarily tries to minimize bare soil and practice several
management regimes for earthworks:
· Full forest cover. These are generally well protected
from erosion by their thick leaf litter and thick vegetation which
intercepts rain as it falls toward the ground. Only maintenance
at those sites is the occasional removal of "hazard trees."
· Open forest where the underbrush is trimmed once per
year and the tree canopy is allowed to remain to provide protective
leaf litter.
· Covered with tall native grasses. Since these grasses
are deeply rooted and grow tall, they provide good protection
and require little maintenance compared to other grasses. In addition,
and they allow visitors to easily view the earthworks and provide
a landscape similar to that of the 1860s.
"What about the plowed land on the battlefields?"
"Our farmers understand that we are fairly restrictive on
our agricultural leases because we don't want to damage our streams
and soils," Allen said.
Farmers are limited in the pesticides they can use and the park
avoids agricultural leases within 150-200 feet of water courses
on park land, she said. Most farmers grow hay, soybean,
winter wheat and corn on the battlefields.
--(4) Civil War group tours Newtonia, Carthage sites ----------------------------------------------------
Civil War group tours Newtonia, Carthage sites
By Greg Grisolano
04/19/2008
Joplin Globe (MO)
http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_110183641.html/resources_printstory
NEWTONIA, Mo. - When it comes to Civil War history, Jeffrey Stark
says the best way to learn is to visit the battlefields.
"You can read about it in books and you can look at maps,"
said Stark, a retired computer programmer from Grapevine, Texas
. "But you can't really appreciate what's going on until
you get on the ground."
Stark and about 30 other members of the Civil War Preservation
Trust toured the Newtonia and Carthage battlefields Saturday as
part of the group's annual meeting in Springfield . About 500
Civil War enthusiasts attended the meeting - the first ever held
west of the Mississippi River .
The Trust is the nation's leading private preservation group and
has purchased more than 25,000 acres of historic battlefields.
"Newtonia is neat because you've got two battlefields in
one and they're both important parts of what happened out here
in Southwest Missouri," said trust member Harry Thaete, a
retired airline pilot from Coronado , Calif. "(Union troops)
were being kept back here to keep an eye on the Confederate troops
coming up through Arkansas ."
After touring the 1862 and 1864 Newtonia battlefields and visiting
the nearby Ritchey mansion, which served as a headquarters and
field hospital during both engagements, the group had lunch before
heading to the Carthage Civil War Museum and touring the 1861
battlefield, considered by some to be the opening fight of the
war.
Stark said conflicts in the Trans-Mississippi get overlooked compared
to the bloodier battles back East.
Members of the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association led
the group on a tour of the old cemetery, and along a creek where
some of the heaviest fighting occurred.
"I can see the potential in this battlefield," said
Blair Tarr, a historian for the Kansas Historical Society and
a trust member. "The interpretive signage is very good. They
have such a good opportunity to present the battlefield."
Tarr and Thaete both said they hope to see the CWPT take a more
active role in preserving the Newtonia sites, a notion that has
members of the local preservation group excited.
"We're ecstatic," said Rick Langum, one of the Newtonia
group members. "With these people coming here and realizing
the significant things that happened here, they're going to want
to be more involved."
According to tour guide Dave Hinze, that first battle at Newtonia,
a decisive Confederate victory, led to the Union redoubling its
campaign efforts in the region. The subsequent campaign by Union
troops through Southwest Missouri and into Arkansas also gives
Newtonia important regional significance.
"Battles don't happen in vacuums, they happen as part of
campaigns," said Hinze, a historian from Rolla. He wrote
a book on Carthage 's Civil War battle. "This becomes a turf
war for control of lead mines, grain fields, the grist mill, which
could feed troops. This is very valuable land to control through
here."
The 1864 Newtonia battle was one of the last ones fought west
of the Mississippi . About 350 soldiers were killed or wounded
in 1862, and 650 casualties were reported in the 1864 battle.
Total casualties for the July 5, 1861, engagement at Carthage
are listed at 244.
In Congress: A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.,
that aims to determine the best way to preserve the Newtonia battlefield
sites was approved last week by the U.S. Senate. It awaits final
approval in the House. The bill authorizes the National Park Service
to conduct a study to determine if the Newtonia sites could be
made a separate unit of the National Park Service or brought under
the management of Wilson 's Creek National Battlefield near Springfield.
--(5) 382 acres added to Lookout battlefield ----------------------------------------------------
Battlefield Adds 382 Acres at Lookout
Chloe Morrison
4/18/2008
Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
http://www.tfponline.com/news/2008/apr/18/battlefield-adds-382-acres-lookout/?local
At a time when many Civil War battlefields and even national parks
are squeezed by outside development, Chickamauga and Chattanooga
National Military Park is growing.
Park officials and the Trust for Public Land received federal
support to purchase 382 acres in March to add to the western flank
of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield.
"It is important to recognize that land associated with battlefields
is really threatened, mostly due to encroachment and development,"
Park Superintendent Shawn Benge said. "If you think about
the percentage of land that is out there where these battles occurred,
it is really, really a small amount of property, but it is very
valuable."
A desire to protect the land where thousands died was what led
to establishment of the nation's first and largest national military
park at Chickamauga and Chattanooga in the 1890s.
The park's new land flanks the Wauhatchie area in Lookout Valley
west of Lookout Mountain and up to the western bank of Lookout
Creek. It reaches almost to the CSX rail lines on the floor of
the valley and stretches south to the Georgia line.
On Monday, officials will gather at Point Park to celebrate the
latest park purchase with a ceremony that will include a walking
tour of part of the area where the fabled Civil War "Battle
Above the Clouds" was fought.
Officials have worked on this latest addition to the park since
2006, said Rick Wood of the Trust for Public Land . The land was
bought in three parcels from CSX Railroad Co., and the entire
deal was completed on March 31, he said.
Mr. Wood said teamwork was essential to the acquisition of the
land, including federal support rallied by U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp,
R-Chattanooga, and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
"Those relationships are critical to making these kinds of
transactions happen," Mr. Wood said. "We are delighted
to have played a part of knitting together these historic lands."
The property was acquired with $4.8 million in congressional appropriations
over three years, Mr. Benge said, but it provides priceless opportunities
to preserve the past, especially since the Chickamauga Battlefield
unit cannot expand.
The 382 acres come on top of the addition of Moccasin Bend to
the park's property, which became official when President Bush
signed legislation in 2003.
HISTORY OF LAND
The new property was crossed by 3,600 Union troops on Nov. 24,
1863, before they forded Lookout Creek and worked their way up
Lookout Mountain to help drive Confederate troops off their perch
above Chattanooga and the Tennessee River , park historian Jim
Ogden said.
Mr. Ogden said Union Gen. Joseph Hooker knew Confederate positions
were too strong for a direct assault across the creek, so he sent
some troops south. Gen. John White Geary's division of 3,600 took
that task, moving south to a place to cross the creek, then attacking
Confederate troops from the side and rear, Mr. Ogden said. Eventually,
Confederate soldiers were forced to give up the most important
part of the mountain.
"It was a blow in the physical sense that the mountain sat
astride the most important road routes into Chattanooga ,"
Mr. Ogden said.
The victory allowed Union troops to prepare for the next day's
assault on Missionary Ridge and started a series of critical setbacks
for the South.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PURCHASE
As well as gaining land to buffer against the push of development,
the new acquisition will help tell a more complete history of
the area and events, said Kay Parish, executive director of Friends
of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park .
Rep. Wamp, who lives in the Lookout Valley area, said preserving
the land helps excite and educate young people about the nation's
history.
"It really engages the next generation in who we are as a
people, and that determines the path you take in the future,"
he said.
Preservation and conservation also are a tourism draw for Tennessee
and a boost to the economy, Rep. Wamp said.
The land also is part of Cherokee history. And Rep. Wamp, who
said he has some Cherokee ancestry, said he feels a special connection
to the Lookout Valley land.
"When I'm at home and I see the sun set across the valley,
I know that this is the same sun, the same sky, the same mountain,
the same streams, the same watershed that these people lived on,"
he said. "It is a supernatural kind of feeling and, as a
result, I'm motivated constantly to do my part to extend this
posterity, to extend this incredible history to the next generation."
BATTLES FOR CHATTANOOGA
* After defeat at Chickamauga , Ga. , on Sept. 20, 1863, Union
troops retreated to Chattanooga . Confederate forces pursued and
occupied Lookout Mountain , Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga Valley
.
* Artillery placed on high ground helped Confederates lay siege
to Chattanooga and choke off Union Gen. William Rosecrans' forces.
* Union reinforcements came with Gen. William T. Sherman and Gen.
Joseph Hooker. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assumed command.
* On Nov. 23, 1863, Gen. George "Rock of Chickamauga "
Thomas' troops took Orchard Knob.
* Nov. 24: Fog covered Lookout Mountain as Gen. Hooker's troops
advanced toward the western slope. Gen. John Geary's division
crossed Lookout Creek at a point included in the new park land.
Union troops took the mountain in the "Battle Above the Clouds."
* Nov. 25: Gen. Thomas' troops moved from Orchard Knob to the
base of Missionary Ridge . Then, without orders, they charged
up the slope and routed Gen. Braxton Bragg's forces.
* Nov. 25-26: Under cover of darkness, Confederate troops retreated
into Georgia .
* Aug. 19, 1890: President Benjamin Harrison signed a bill establishing
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park .
* Sept. 18-20, 1895: The park was dedicated.
* 1905: Point Park was built to commemorate the Battle Above the
Clouds.
--(6) Civil War buffs touring Missouri sites ----------------------------------------------------
Civil War buffs touring Missouri sites
By Todd G. Higdon
04/17/2008
Neosho Daily News (MO)
http://www.waynesvilledailyguide.com/state_news/x1498097990
A unique group is in Southwest Missouri through Sunday to tour
area Civil War sites, including Newtonia, Carthage and Wilson
Creek near Springfield .
"The Civil War Preservation Trust is holding their annual
meeting for their membership," Wilson Creek National Battlefield
historian Connie Langum said. "And when they have these meetings,
the whole purpose is to get these folks out to see these battlefields.
That is why there are tours."
This is also unique in the fact that this organization has never
held their annual meeting west of the Mississippi . It is usually
held on the East Coast or thereabouts.
The CWPT is " America 's largest non-profit organization
devoted to the preservation of our nation's endangered Civil War
battlefields," according to their mission statement. "The
trust also promotes educational programs and heritage tourism
initiatives to inform the public of the war's history and the
fundamental conflicts that sparked it."
The events include history lectures, book shows, panel discussions,
an author book signing and color bearer tours.
"Color bearers are those folks that have donated quite a
bit of money to the organization," said Langum. "We
are anticipating 300 people coming in. I am impressed with the
number of people coming in. It is more than I anticipated. It
is a good number, an excellent response."
Invited speakers include Edwin C. Bearss, David Hinze, Langum,
Arnold Schofield, William Shea and Richard Sommers.
On Friday and Saturday, those in attendance will have the opportunity
to tour the Civil War sites, they can pick one of following each
day. Wilson Creek (either bus tour or hiking tour), the battles
of Newtonia and Carthage, Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas, Oklahoma
Civil War tour (Friday only) including Cabin Creek and Honey Springs;
the Kansas Civil War sites of Fort Scott and Mine Creek (Saturday
only), museum and historical homes of Springfield (Friday only)
and Missouri (Saturday only).
Those touring Newtonia will have the opportunity to see the Ritchey
Mansion , the Old Civil War Cemetery , talk about where the old
barn was located at and see the cornfields where the second battle
was fought. The first battle at was in 1862 and saw an unprecedented
number of Native American units fight on both sides. The second
battle in 1864 battle was the last one fought in Missouri , a
state that had more Civil War clashes than any other beside Virginia
and Tennessee . Approximately 350 soldiers were either killed
or wounded in 1862, and 650 casualties were reported in the 1864
battle.
Asked how the area would benefit from having the trust coming
in, Langum broke it down to five words. "They know
where we are," Langum said. "That is the big benefit.
They are here and again, they have never been west of the Mississippi
before."
"The money that they (CWPT) is used for land acquisition,
to buy battlefield land," Langum said.
What is next?
The CWPT will host the 2009 meeting at Gettysburg , Pa.
Langum was asked where she sees Newtonia, Carthage , and other
battlefields in the next five years. "I see the development
that threatens the East Coast is coming our way," said Langum.
"If we don't do something with help from the trust or others,
we are going to end up just like the East Coast. Wilson Creek
is probably the exception, because we are federal, we are fairly
well protected, but not as well as we like, but it is coming.
As far as significant, these battles right here rank up with anything
on the East Coast. Missouri was third in the number of battles
next to Virginia (first) and Tennessee (second)."
For more information about the CWPT, please visit the Web site
www.civilwar.org
The event will conclude on Saturday with a banquet and awards
ceremony in Springfield.
--(7) State allocates funds for battlefields ----------------------------------------------------
State Battles Sprawl: Budget Amendment Would Make Millions
of Dollars Available For Preserving Virginia Civil War Battlefields
By Rusty Dennen
4/16/2008
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (VA)
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/042008/04162008/371747
Civil War battlefield preservation efforts here could get a big
boost from the state--and private donors.
Among Gov. Tim Kaine's amendments to the 2008-2010 budget bill
is a $5 million addition to the Civil War Historic Site Preservation
Fund.
The infusion of cash, supported by House Speaker Bill Howell,
R-Stafford County , could be used to purchase important, privately
owned land.
Private preservation groups such as the Civil War Preservation
Trust have to raise $2 for every dollar they receive in state
funding for the purchases.
The General Assembly will take final action on Kaine's budget
plan April 23. The preservation fund addition is one of 41 amendments
on the table, totaling about $8.9 million.
"This is crucial. It's something we've been working on for
three years," said Jim Campi, spokesman for the Washington,
D.C.-based Civil War Preservation Trust.
About $500,000 from the fund, created in 2006, was used by the
national nonprofit preservation group toward its $12 million purchase
of the 210-acre Slaughter Pen Farm along Tidewater Trail in Spotsylvania
County.
About $200,000 was used last year toward the purchase of land
at the Glendale battlefield near Richmond. There, as in the Fredericksburg
area, Congress sets the battlefield boundaries and some significant
land remains in private hands within and outside the boundaries.
Preservationists told the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American
Civil War Commission last fall that those parcels must be obtained
quickly before they are swallowed by development. The years 2011-2015
will mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
"There are some key properties that we still think need to
be acquired land associated with Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania,
the Wilderness and at Brandy Station in Culpeper," Campi
said.
Howell, who chairs the sesquicentennial commission, has been a
supporter of battlefield preservation and supports the budget
amendment.
"It's very important It's a good public-private partnership,"
Howell said yesterday.
Without CWPT's efforts and the money from the state fund, "Slaughter
Pen would be a shopping center," Howell said. The farm, part
of the 1882 Battle of Fredericksburg, earned its name because
of the fierce fighting on the property.
State Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania County, also worked to secure
the state funding.
"This is a huge deal," said Linda Wandres, executive
director of the Fredericksburg-based Central Virginia Battlefields
Trust.
"Though we were not involved with the discussions with the
state, we hope to jump in and use the process," Wandres said.
"We care about this because there are so many economic, environmental
and educational reasons for saving this land," she said,
along with promoting heritage tourism.
"The ground itself has to be seen and walked for someone
to understand the depth of commitment and sacrifice" of the
soldiers who fought and died, Wandres said.
In a report last week, the National Parks Conservation Association
warned that 1.8 million acres of private land within national
parks is under growing pressure to be developed or sold.
Most national parks, including the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
National Military Park, have little or no money for land acquisition.
So private, nonprofits are taking up the slack.
The military park includes the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania Courthouse,
Wilderness and Chancellorsville battlefields.
"This may be the last best chance to preserve Civil War battlefields
in Virginia," said Russ Smith, superintendent of the military
park.
--(8) Battlefield gets a new visitors station -----------------------------------------------------
Dinwiddie County Battlefield Gets a New Visitors Station
4/15/2008
Petersburg Progress-Index (VA)
http://www.progress-index.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19484148&BRD=2271&PAG=461&dept_id=462943&rfi=6
A new visitor station at Five Forks Battlefield will help tourists
gain a better understanding to one of the climatic battles of
the Civil War.
The $3 million visitor center complex will nearly double the amount
of exhibit space - from 388 square feet in the former gas station
currently used to 730 square feet.
The 2,400-square-foot visitor station will be set back in the
woods to allow people to decompress from their car trip. In addition
to a new visitors center, tourists will be able to now wander
down miles of new trails.
Chris Calkins, the National Park Service's chief of interpretation
for the battlefield, calls the April 1, 1865 clash "the battle
that broke the camel's back."
Union troops broke through Confederate lines during the battle.
By the next day, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was forced to
withdraw from Petersburg and the capital in Richmond. In little
over a week - April 9, 1865 - Lee surrendered his army to Union
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
The visitor station, which is expected to be finished next year,
will be key in explaining the complex story of the siege of Petersburg
and how that was a catalyst in ending the Civil War.
Dave Schulte, executive director of Petersburg Area Regional Tourism,
said there is a burgeoning market for history tourism.
"Civil War history is the major product we have to sell.
The story of the siege of Petersburg is a complex one that stretches
36 miles from City Point [in Hopewell] to this battlefield,"
Schulte said.
That assessment is a key to the area's economic success. Much
needs to be done in the region to further capitalize and capture
the area's history-related tourism. The new visitor station is
a key part of that effort.
"Dinwiddie County is proud of its Civil War heritage,"
said John Talmage, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. "Hopefully
this will be of great economic and historic value for Dinwiddie."
We think it will.
--(9) Savannah 's humble, but hallowed battlegrounds -----------------------------------------------------
Humble, but hallowed
Civil War Preservation Trust names earthen works in Savannah one
of nation's 10-most 'endangered' sites.
By Chuck Mobley
04/05/2008
Savannah Morning News (GA)
http://savannahnow.com/node/475701
As the 147th anniversary of the start of the Civil War approaches,
a group of concerned Georgians is fighting to save earthen entrenchments
from that struggle that still surround Savannah.
"As new houses, commercial establishments and roads are built,
the western defense lines remnants are in danger," said Charlie
Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, referring
to the earthworks Confederate forces erected late in 1864 as Union
soldiers approached Savannah.
An earlier series of strong points, put up shortly after the war
started on April 12, 1861, to guard the seaward approaches to
the city, is likewise threatened. "Several of the earthen
forts and batteries have been lost," Crawford said, "and
others are eroding."
The situation spurred the Georgia Battlefields Association to
action, and its efforts have placed the Savannah fortifications
on "History Under Siege," an annual listing of endangered
battlefields that's announced to wide media coverage by the Civil
War Preservation Trust.
"This report is more than a list of threatened historic sites,"
the CWPT said. "It is also a plan for saving the last remaining
links to a moment in history that defined us as a nation."
Fort still stands at Wormsloe
Since its list was first released in 2001, the CWPT's efforts
have averted threats to sites across the nation. The latest list
cites encroachments onto several famous battlefields, including
Antietam and Cold Harbor. But it also seeks to save locations
that have largely been forgotten, such as Fort Wimberly, now a
heavily wooded and rarely visited outpost at Wormsloe Historic
Site.
"This is a gun emplacement," said Joe Thompson, pointing
to a level spot that looks out onto the Moon River. Carefully
moving through shrubs and bushes and up and down embankments,
Thompson - the manager at Wormsloe since 1981- laid out the boundaries
of Fort Wimberly.
It was a massive structure during the war, tall, thick and imposing,
with emplacements for several pieces of artillery. Now, it's indistinguishable
from the rest of the shoreline, and its distance from the museum
and main interpretative area has kept it off the tour of the site,
Thompson said.
That doesn't mean, however, that no one goes there.
"A shovel did that," said Thompson, looking at a divot
near the gun emplacement. "That's a relic hunter's mark."
He then turned and walked to the top of one of the embankments
and considered a much larger threat to Fort Wimberly - the causeway
that crosses the Moon River.
Future plans call for putting another bridge across the river,
Thompson said, adding two more traffic lanes, and a bike path,
to the heavily traveled route to Skidaway Island.
Thompson didn't try to diminish the need for the expansion, but
he lamented that the proposal, as it stands now, would place the
new lanes on the side of the road closest to Wormsloe, bringing
traffic within a few feet of the old fortification.
He fears the new lanes will bring added attention and easier access
to Fort Wimberly, allowing "relic hunters," vandals
and others to roam across it at will.
Development endangers 1864 entrenchments
Barry Sheehy, a businessman with international interests and a
home in Savannah, has been at the forefront of the effort to save
positions on Chatham County's westside that were manned by Confederate
and Union soldiers during December 1864.
He's experienced success - the trenches and gun positions behind
Savannah Christian Preparatory School have been preserved; and
failure - an adjacent set of trenches was demolished by a developer.
He's also authored a Georgia Historical Quarterly article ("Forgotten
Battles: Engagements at Monteith Swamp and Shaw's Bridge During
the Savannah Campaign in 1864) on this portion of the city's history,
carefully assessed what remains of those fields and lines, and
amassed encyclopedic knowledge of the old roads and paths that
once ran through that area.
The key to saving as many of these positions as possible, Sheehy
said, is actually pretty simple - tell the public about them.
"When something is identified as being historically important,
nine out of 10 people will do the right thing," he said.
Sheehy's sentiments were echoed by Crawford of the CWPT.
"We try very hard to raise public awareness of the more than
400 Civil War sites throughout Georgia," he said, "because
people normally support preserving the sites once they are aware
they exist."
That step, saving the site, preserves a tangible link, Crawford
said. Once you go to a Civil War battlefield or site, and see
the actual ground, "it's much easier to understand what happened,"
he said.
---------
Battered batteries
A list of earthen forts, compiled by the Georgia Battlefields
Association, that once helped guard the approaches to Savannah
from the sea:
Rose Dhu: Privately owned, eroding from adjacent river.
Beaulieu: No remains.
Wimberly: On Wormsloe State Historic Site, but threatened by causeway
expansion.
Daniels (Isle of Hope): No remains.
Grimball's Point (Isle of Hope): No remains.
Thunderbolt: No remains.
Turner's Rock: Privately owned, not threatened by development.
Gibson's Point: Privately owned, some reported remains.
Causten's Bluff: Inside gated community, partially intact.
Bartow: Inside gated golf community, partially intact.
Lee: On commercial property, largely eroded into Savannah River.
For information
To learn about the Civil War Preservation Trust, go to www.civilwar.org.
To learn about the Georgia Battlefields Association, go to www.georgiabattlefields.org.
To learn about the Georgia Historical Society, go to www.georgiahistory.com.
To learn about Wormsloe Historic Site, go to http://gastateparks.org/info/wormsloe.
---------------------------------------------------------
Jim Campi, Policy and Communications Director
Civil War Preservation Trust
1331 H Street NW
Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 367-1861
http://www.civilwar.org