Battlefield preservation

The other day, I received a letter that informed me that the Nominating Committee of the newly-formed Buffington Island Battlefield Preservation Foundation had chosen me for a three-year term as one of the founding voting trustees of the Foundation. Given that I wasn’t even aware that the Foundation had been formed, it came as quite a wonderful surprise, and I immediately accepted the invitation.

The Foundation is apparently an arm of the Ohio Historical Society, as the letter came in an OHS envelope, and as the Foundation will be maintaining its office at the OHS facility here in Columbus. OHS owns a miserable little four acre parcel of land on the battlefield that features a reproduction of an Indian burial mound, a monument to the battle, and a couple of interpretive markers, and that’s all of the battlefield that’s been preserved. The rest of the battlefield is in private hands, and a big chunk of it is owned (and has been so owned for decades) by a sand and gravel company that has been working on getting the necessary permits to dig up the battlefield for years.

Buffington Island is an interesting fight for a lot of reasons. First, and foremost, it’s Ohio’s only significant Civil War battlefield. For another, two future U.S. Presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley were present at the battle. Also, nearly 5,000 cavalrymen slugged it out here on a large and fluid battlefield that led to the surrender of a significant portion of John Hunt Morgan’s command, including his brother-in-law, Col. Basil W. Duke. Next, there was significant involvement by the U.S. Navy’s Mississippi Squadron in the form of several river gunboats that helped to block the Ohio River fords and make it impossible for Morgan to cross. Finally, more than 100 men were killed in this battle, and approximately 50 Confederate dead remain buried on the battlefield in unmarked graves.

I’ve been involved in the fight to try to preserve this battle for more than a decade, since the sand and gravel company first got serious about getting permits. Here’s a link to a piece on the battle that I wrote years ago (you can get a sense of how old it is by the fact that George Voinovich was still Governor of Ohio and John Glenn was still in the Senate). It’s short and not my best work, but it gives a sense of the battle and preservation fight.

From my perspective, I’m not only honored to have been selected, I’m tickled that some semi-official body associated with the State of Ohio has finally decided to get on board with the idea of preserving this State’s only significant Civil War battlefield. My frustration with the utter lack of any concern about the upcoming sesquicentennial of the Civil War has already been documented here, so I’m hoping that the fact that OHS is involved means that somebody will actually pay attention this time.

I will keep you posted of our progress as the organization begins to coalesce. I’m guessing that our first board meeting will be held in the next sixty days, so I will report back then.

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Andrew Duppstadt wrote me privately yesterday and asked if I’d be interested in seeing the response of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation to all of the criticism that’s been flying. I said sure, and in the interest of fairness, I quote the letter here verbatim:

June 23, 2008

To Our Reenactor Partners, Sponsors and Supporters:

There has recently been some negative and misleading publicity about the successful efforts of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation to secure a binding agreement from O-N Mineral’s, (Carmeuse) to support preservation efforts and contribute to the shared goals of creating a reserve of property for further preservation efforts. We felt that we owe it to all of our reenactor partners, sponsors, supporters and the public to set the record straight. Contrary to the negative and incomplete information spread by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Belle Grove, Inc., the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation stood alone and successfully took the initiative to preserve and protect core battlefield land and artifacts.

After twenty years of intense and dedicated preservation efforts on the part of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, (“CCBF”), we are deeply saddened and surprised that any entity would issue a public statement that so inappropriately characterizes the activities and intentions of the CCBF and its members. For this reason, we believe the facts concerning our relationship with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Belle Grove, Inc., (collectively designated “Belle Grove”), and Carmeuse, (the “Quarry”), need be disclosed.

Reenactments
CCBF held its first reenactment in 1990, and since that time has occasionally used additional property from Belle Grove, depending on the number of reenactors attending an event. In 1999, Belle Grove required a payment of $6,000 for the use of a few acres behind the plantation and reserved the right to cancel the agreement at anytime and for any reason. CCBF considered this unacceptable, and for the next several years, the event was held solely on CCBF lands. CCBF rented land from Belle Grove for the 140th Anniversary Reenactment in 2004, and through 2007. In addition to paying all the expenses associated with hosting the reenactments, CCBF has paid over $68,000 to Belle Grove since 1999.

First and foremost, our reenactment will continue this fall as it always has. Through the hard work of our many dedicated reenactors, sponsors and volunteers, we will continue our reenactment activities as scheduled on October 18 & 19, 2008, so that preservation, educational activities and respect for our heritage and history can continue. The reenactment will take place on the core battlefield lands owned by the CCBF, as it has for many years. The CCBF Board voted several months ago not to use the Belle Grove property this year due to the high cost of renting the land ($5,000 for 3 days).

Quarry
FACT – After almost two years of waiting for the local preservation partnership group to negotiate a position, two weeks before the quarry rezoning public hearing, the CCBF stood alone in attempting to negotiate with the Quarry to ensure responsible preservation efforts and responsible land use. Ever since the rezoning issue appeared, our organization had opposed the application, because none of the concerns the CCBF raised had ever been adequately addressed. However, it also became clear to our board members that the “just say no” policy was not a practical position to take when we learned that the limestone vein adjacent to the Battlefield was of the highest quality valued at least $300 million dollars. With the prospect that the Quarry operations would continue as planned, CCBF alone sought to intercede, negotiate and obtain commitments from the Quarry that would enhance and continue our preservation efforts. We were able to secure such an agreement from the Quarry and, more importantly, secured an agreement that would bind the Quarry whether or not its rezoning efforts succeeded.

On April 23, 2008, just hours before the Frederick County Board of Supervisors public hearing, CCBF President Hirschberg signed an agreement with the Quarry guaranteeing the following:

Berms: To improve and enhance the viewshed, the Quarry will reduce the height of the berms around the pits that are visible from the Heater House fields and main battlefield. In addition, the Quarry will landscape the berms with a mixture of deciduous and coniferous plantings. The agreement reached between the Quarry and CCBF was crafted to eliminate or significantly reduce the visibility of the existing processing plant when viewed from Route 11. For two decades, the number one complaint from both reenactors and spectators has been having the processing plant as the backdrop to the battlefield. We believe protecting the viewshed is critical to the experience that our reenactors and visitors enjoy. Its mitigation will become the single most important improvement to the vista of the entire park for years to come. This was the result of simply meeting one-on-one with the Quarry, and sharing our concerns. Berm construction will not occur in areas identified as historically significant.

Cultural Resources: An eight acre tract previously identified as historically significant will be donated to CCBF within sixty days of the signing of the agreement. The Quarry and the CCBF have also agreed that there exists other historical resources, (U.S. VI Corps camp area), immediately adjacent to the eight acre parcel which may encompass an additional twenty acres more or less. These acres will also be deeded to the CCBF upon the completion of an archaeological study to confirm its significance. A joint archeological survey by Dr. Clarence Geier and Dr. Joseph Whitehorne, (both noted experts on the Civil War), will be conducted on all other properties under consideration for rezoning and such studies will be paid for by the Quarry.

Artifacts: All artifacts discovered will become the property of the CCBF and will be held in trust for the public benefit.

Additional Land Donation: As part of the agreement, other newly discovered areas of historical significance, (such as an area known locally as the Middletown Woods), may also be deeded to the CCBF. As a result, more core battlefield may/will be donated to CCBF pending the conclusion of the archeological survey.

In addition to the items mentioned above, the Quarry decreased the acreage in the rezoning application, (from 639 acres to 394 acres), restricted the number of truck loads to 86 per day, and instructed drivers to avoid Belle Grove and Chapel Roads. Also, CCBF has begun discussions with the Quarry concerning the possible placement of preservation easements on substantial amounts of core battlefield land.

In summary, CCBF has at all times acted honestly, responsibly and in a manner believed to be in keeping with the Foundation’s mission statement. Our efforts have always depended on the sustained goodwill and dedicated efforts of our many reenactors, sponsors and volunteers who have enabled us to preserve this important national treasure known as the Cedar Creek Battlefield. Our actions were intentionally designed to ensure that the preservation efforts of the past are enhanced, additional battlefield land is immediately secured, and strategies are implemented that will lead to future battlefield and artifact protection.

We look forward to seeing you on October 18 & 19.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation,

Suzanne Chilson
Executive Director
Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation
P.O. Box 229
Middletown, Virginia 22645
540-869-2064
cedarcrk@visuallink.com
www.cedarcreekbattlefield.org

While I appreciate Ms. Chilson’s efforts and explanations, the fact remains that the CCBF dropped the ball on this one, big time. The explanations just don’t ring true, and I cannot buy into the idea of appeasement. There are times to negotiate, and there are times to draw a line in the sand. This was a time to draw a line in the sand, and I cannot forgive the failure to do so. I remain persuaded that the time for the CCBF to be the steward of this battlefield has ended.

Thanks to Andrew for passing this along.

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In preparing for my tour this weekend, I spoke to Gerry Harlow, the founder of the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation last night, as I have invited a representative of the TSBF to speak to my tour group about the preservation effort on Saturday.

During the course of the conversation, Gerry told me some terrific news that I want to share here.

Charles Goodall Trevilian was the wealthiest man in all of Louisa County, Virginia. The stop on the Virginia Central Railroad was named for him, as the depot was located on Trevilian’s land. His house sits about 75 yards from the location of the war-time depot. The yard of the house saw heavy fighting on the afternoon of June 11, 1864, and it served as George Armstrong Custer’s headquarters that night.

One of Trevilian’s daughters married a fellow named Charles Danne, Jr., and they lived in the house after Trevilian died. For many years, the house was known to the local citizenry as the Danne house, not the Trevilian house. It’s only been in the last decade or so that its real identity was pinned down.

The house has seen hard times. It’s not in good shape, and it was about to go to sheriff’s sale last week as the consequence of a default on the mortgage. Apparently, the present owner has been tearing up floorboards to burn them for heat. It’s a horrifying thought of people living that way, but that’s apparently precisely how it has played out.

Gerry was able to make a deal with the present owners and their lender to prevent it from going to sheriff’s sale, and it’s now in contract to purchase. Our good friends at the Civil War Preservation Trust entered into the purchase contract, and it will close shortly. The present owners get to stay there for a while as a condition of the sale, but the house will be saved and it will be stabilized.

Once that happens, it will make for an absolutely perfect visitor’s center for the battlefield/headquarters for the TSBF. It’s an important and very worthwhile preservation victory, just one of many we’ve managed to score at Trevilian Station. Kudos to Gerry for his great work.

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I would also be remiss if I didn’t at least acknowledge today as the 144th anniversary of the Battle of Trevilian Station, the largest all-cavalry battle of the war (remember that 3,000 Union infantry participated at Brandy Station). Trevilian Station had a great deal of strategic significance to the outcome of the war; it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that had Sheridan defeated Hampton at Trevilian Station, the war likely would have ended as many as six months earlier than it did, and there would have been no 1864 Valley Campaign.

Sheridan’s orders were to march along the north bank of the North Anna River, cross somewhere near Carpenter’s Ford, and then march along the route of the Virginia Central Railroad to Gordonsville. Upon arriving at Gordonsville, he was to destroy the critical junction of the Orange & Alexandria and Virginia Central Railroads and then continue west on the Virginia Central to Charlottesville, where he was to destroy the railroad junction there. Sheridan was then to meet up with the army of David Hunter and escort Hunter’s command to Petersburg, where Grant would then move on the city from three directions: The Army of the James from the north and east, the Army of the Potomac from the center, and Hunter’s army with the cavalry from the west. Robert E. Lee would either have to come out and fight on ground of Grant’s choosing, or withstand a siege, which as Lee recognized, made the surrender of his army a foregone conclusion.

Fortunately for the Confederacy, Wade Hampton conducted a magnificent battle and stymied Sheridan at Trevilian Station. Sheridan did not achieve a single one of his strategic objectives other than to draw off the Confederate cavalry to prevent it from observing the Army of the Potomac’s crossing of the James River on June 13, 1864.

I’ve been deeply involved in the preservation and interpretation of the battlefield at Trevilian Station for nearly a decade now. The folks from the Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation have done a magnificent job of saving the battlefield and preserving it for future generations. I was asked to write the text of the interpretive markers placed on the battlefield by the Virginia Civil War Trails folks, and of all of the historical work that I have done, I am, unquestionably, most proud of those ten markers. When my time comes and I’m long dead and buried, those markers will still be there, educating people about what happened there. They are, without doubt, the contribution to Civil War history of which I am most proud.

Here’s to the soldiers of the North and South who fought, suffered, and died at an obscure stop on the Virginia Central Railroad in Louisa County, Virginia on June 11 and 12, 1864.

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Hat tip to Sam Hood for passing this article along.

The following article ran in today’s issue of the Williamson Herald newspaper:

Cartwright Resigns as Carter House Executive Director

By CAROLE ROBINSON, Staff Writer
crobinson@williamsonherald.com

Even with the sounds of traffic passing along Columbia Avenue only 20 yards away, Thomas Cartwright manages to take Carter House visitors back in time to Nov. 30, 1864 and the bloodiest hours of the Battle of Franklin.

For those who have had Cartwright as their tour guide, or have heard him speak publicly, his knowledge, his passion and his love and respect for the warriors on both sides of the picket line, has made the battle and those who fought come alive to be remembered.

The job of telling the stories of Gen. Patrick Cleburne, Gen. John Bell Hood, the Carter family and “the bloodiest hours of the American Civil War,” will now fall to others.” Thomas Cartwright resigned his position as executive director of the historic Civil War house and museum earlier this week after more than 19 years.

“I have been offered some great opportunities doing some consulting,” Cartwright said. “This was not a snap decision. I thought about it. I prayed about it a long time. I love this site with all my heart–that will never change. I love working here–every afternoon at 4 o’clock I think of Capt. Tod Carter on his horse Rosencrantz saying,’I’m going home today.'”

He was mortally wounded just 525 feet from his home.

Opportunities to guide battlefield and historical tours across the country, including a Lewis and Clark tour and even in World War II European battlefield tours are also on the horizon for the 52-year-old historian.

Cartwright said he also looks forward to finishing his book, “The Mascots of the Civil War” and creating some non-historical books, such as a compilation of his collection of old animal photos from 1840 to the 1920s.

An ardent student of history, Cartwright was hired by the Carter House Board of Directors in January 1989 to identify artifacts and interpret the battle, the family, the town and the impact of the war. He became the museum’s military curator in April 1990 and executive director of the Carter House Nov. 7, 1997.

For him the job was so much more–it was a passion.

“Every day of my life I live the Battle of Franklin,” he said. “So many people have influenced my life, including Herbert Harper who saved the Carter House–it was going to be a gas station. I learned from the historians and the guests. If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned it’s risky–dangerous–to judge the past with our eyes.”

A Nashville native, Cartwright’s interest in the Battle of Franklin began at a very early age when he listened to his grandmother tell stories of her father, who fought in the battle.

“I would love to sit with my grandparents and the old folks–aunts, uncles–and hear their stories over and over again; just stories about people. I think it’s important to know those personal stories– the human side and influence.”

When he was 5, he visited the McGavock cemetery (at Carnton).

“Afterwards, I remember riding by the Carter House and my mother pointed and said, ‘That’s where all the generals were killed.'”

On Nov. 30, 1964–he was 8–he joined his family in Franklin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin and he recalls the impact of the guide putting a finger in the bullet hole in the family room of the Carter House. As Cartwright got older he tagged along with older boys on relic hunts for mini balls and cannon ball fragments in fields around Franklin and the soil of construction sites.

Since his mother worked for a publishing house, his appetite for history was all the more satiated when the owner would send him history books like “The Blue & The Gray.”

“While others were reading their comic books, I read history books,” he said. “I love all types of history. It’s the people–the personal stories that bring it alive. It’s important to honor them–to tell their stories and keep their memories alive–not glorify their deaths, but glorify their lives. Then we won’t repeat the same mistakes. On one aspect, I hate war and hurting other people, but the other aspect is the human side that captures me. I’m reminded of the quote, ‘In times of peace, sons bury their fathers. In times of war, fathers bury their sons.’ That typifies the Carter House. The Battle of Franklin demonstrated the best and the worst of mankind.”

During his 19 1/2 years at the Carter House, Cartwright said he continued learning through the many great historians he had the pleasure to meet and visitors who related their own family stories.

“So many people have been good to me and to the Carter House–I can’t name them all. I just hope a speck of their greatness has fallen on me so I can carry them with me. They are a part of my life and they will always be a part of my life. I’m the richest man of the face of the earth.”

Nancy Conway, who has been on the Carter House Board of Directors for more than 30 years, said Cartwright’s work has brought the site national, even international attention.

“It is not just what he did here, but the presence of Thomas across the United States that have identified Franklin, Tennessee, and the Carter House as significant Civil War sites,” Conway said.

Author Robert Hicks was with Cartwright on Monday and considers him a close friend.

“Thomas’s departure will leave a huge hole that nobody will really be able to fill for a long time in preservation,” Hicks said. “His passion for the Carter House and history is gigantic.”

Carter House Board of Directors President Shanon Wasielewski said the board is grateful for Cartwright’s 19 1/2 years of service.

“Thomas will be greatly missed. We appreciate everything he has given to the site and wish him the very best as he pursues his new opportunities,” Wasielewski said. “He has made an indelible mark on not only The Carter House, but on the interpretation of the Battle of Franklin and on those that have toured the house or had the fortune of hearing him speak during his tenure as executive director. Many people have been drawn to The Carter House because of Thomas Cartwright.” David Fraley, currently The Carter House historian and assistant curator, will serve as the interim executive director while the board is conducting a nationwide search for Cartwright’s replacement.

“We are fortunate to have someone like David who can help the organization through this transition,” Wasielewski said. “David brings a wealth of experience to the position as has hands on knowledge and expertise regarding The Carter House. He has served in key positions with the historic site for more than seven years.”

Posted on: 5/22/2008

Tom Cartwright has done a superb job of overseeing and preserving the Carter House, and he leaves with its land holdings being expanded and more of the Battle of Franklin’s battlefield protected than ever. He’s been a superb steward, and he will be missed in Franklin. Good luck to Tom with his new ventures.

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Hat tip to Rea Andrew Redd for first bringing this article to my attention:

Civil War Buffs Couldn’t See History For The Trees: National Parks Clear Trees From Original Battlefield ‘Sight lines,’ Delighting (And Appalling)Students Of History, Randy Dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, April 23, 2008.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0423/p13s02-lign.html

Count me among the enthusiastic supporters of this program. First, and foremost, it should be noted that I am no fan of John Latschar, the superintendent of the Gettysburg National Military Park. In my world, there are two unforgivable sins: lying to me and wasting my time, and he’s done both. Having said that, though, I must give the devil his due. This was a brilliant plan and one that has been incredibly successful in operation.

By opening up sight lines, it makes it possible to see things as the soldiers did, rather than having to say, “imagine if these trees weren’t here”, which is what I often had to do. Try as I might, it’s not possible to imagine the trees not being there. I remember the first time that I saw the clearing from the perspective of the lower end of the center of the Union line, where McGilvery’s artillery was. For the first time, you could see the Longstreet tower, meaning that for the first time, you could truly appreciate the view that the Federals had.

Or the clearing of the trees between the Peach Orchard and the Triangular Field/Devil’s Den area at Gettysburg. It used to be that finding the ruins of the Timbers farm was a real challenge, and if you weren’t with someone who knew where they were, good luck finding them. Now, they’re out in the open, easily found, and you can appreciate the ordeal faced by the Confederate infantry trying to attack Devil’s Den.

Or the clearing of Munshower’s Knoll. I never knew that there were monuments there until the trees were cut down. Or that there was such a prominent and important knoll there that made for a perfect artillery platform. But for the tree cutting, one would never get that appreciation for the role of that particular terrain feature.

I understand the objections. However, I happen to think that getting it right is more important than non-historic tree lots.

A similar program has been very successful in restoring the West Woods at Antietam, and I am aware that a tree-cutting program has been instituted at the Bull Run battlefields in Virginia. I support those efforts just as enthusiastically as I do the ones at Gettysburg.

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I finally shook off my malaise and wrote something new this weekend.

About ten days ago, Mary Koik, the editor of Hallowed Ground, the magazine published by the Civil War Preservation Trust, asked me if I would write an article for the next issue that gave an overview of cavalry operations in the Gettysburg Campaign. The article was to set the stage for the Trust’s efforts to preserve the Hunterstown battlefield, which made the list of ten most threatened battlefields this year for the first time.

Other than this blog, it’s the first thing I’ve written since we finished the additions to One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863. I just haven’t been motivated at all. I’ve tried to work on one other article that I’ve started, but I just haven’t been able to motivate to get it done. Hell, I haven’t even been able to make myself look at it.

I sat down yesterday and cranked out a 4700 word broad overview of cavalry operations in the Gettysburg Campaign in one afternoon. It was written pretty much straight off the top of my head. It’s certainly not intended to be the last word on the subject, but it’s a decent overview. J. D. did a quick edit of it for me, and I turned it in to Mary this afternoon. Considering that I had less than a month to get it done, I’m pretty pleased with the effort.

Once the article has been laid out for the magazine, I will make sure that the PDF file of it is made available on this website for anyone who might want to read it.

Next up is a short article on Lincoln and Meade that I’ve been asked to do. Now that I’ve finally broken the motivational logjam, I’m hoping that I can get it done quickly. Stay tuned.

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Hat tip to Randy Drais for bringing this to my attention:

The Emmitsburg, Maryland Historical Society is apparently one of the sponsors of a new battlefield advocacy group, the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association. The Battle of Monterey Pass has always been a favorite engagement of mine. I’ve written about it at length, first in an article that appeared in North and South magazine, then in my editing of James H. Kidd’s various writings, and then again at length in One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863.

Here’s the description of the group’s mission statement from the website:

Our goal is to identify & raise awareness to educate the public about the historical Civil War significance of the Monterey Area.

I think it’s an admirable goal, and I intend to join the organization and do what I can to promote its objectives. John Buford’s cavalry marched through the Pass on its way to Gettysburg, and most of the Army of Northern Virginia used the Pass during the retreat from Gettysburg. The battle on the night of July 4-5, 1863 was one of the most significant actions of the Gettysburg Campaign, both for what it was, an also for what it could have been.

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Good news from Perryville!!!

Perryville rejects subdivision zoning near battlefield
By Greg Kocher

04/03/2008
Lexington Hearld-Leader (KY)
http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/365954.html

PERRYVILLE — By a 4-1 vote Thursday night, the Perryville City Council rejected a proposed subdivision that would have been near Kentucky’s largest Civil War battlefield. “I’m relieved,” said Sherry Robinson, a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who had spoken against the proposal. “Right now, we’re ecstatic.”

Marion “Pete” Coyle Jr., the landowner who had wanted to develop a portion of his farm on U.S. 150 just west of downtown Perryville, had little comment after the vote.

“I’m upset right now,” Coyle said as he left City Hall.

Had the council approved the rezoning, Coyle could have put 53 single-family houses, an assisted living center and two commercial highway businesses on 34 acres.

But the proposal came under fire from Civil War re-enactors and preservationists who feared the rezoning would only open more farmland around the battlefield to development. At last count, city hall had received 169 telephone calls, many from re-enactors around the country who opposed the development. Re-enactors say Perryville remains relatively unspoiled and appears much as it would have to its original combatants.

“We have to continue to protect this land, because if we don’t there’s a strong possibilty it may rear its head again,” said Union re-enactor Chad Greene of Perryville.

The proposed rezoning prompted the Civil War Preservation Trust, a non-profit group in Washington D.C., to put Perryville on its Top 10 list of endangered battlefields last month.

Some 7,500 were killed or wounded in the October 1862 Battle of Perryville. It was a tactical Confederate victory, but Kentucky remained in Union hands for the rest of the war. Perryville council member Sheila Cox recalled those soldiers while reading a written statement about her support for Coyle’s proposal.

“I would hope to think that the soldiers that lost their lives for rights and freedom did not intend for us not to grow and make progress,” Cox said.

She added: “The battlefield and the city of Perryville both need to understand that each other have got to give and take in order to survive. The Coyle proposal has taken great pains in seeing that the plans include the best interests of both parties.”

But council member Georgeanne Edwards said Coyle had failed to demonstrate a need for the rezoning. And she said there was no evidence of any major economic, social or physical changes to the area that might warrant a zone change.

“Also, the development is not compatible with the efforts to preserve the Perryville battlefield, and the historically significant land surrounding the battlefield,” Edwards said.

On the vote to reject the rezoning, council members Edwards, Bill Chance, Julie Clay and Dawn Hastings voted yes, and Cox voted no. Council member Phillip Crowe was absent. Mayor Anne Sleet was not permitted to vote because she is not a member of the legislative body.

Troops did not fight on the Coyle property. However, Old Mackville Road, used by both Confederate and Union soldiers as they went to and from the battlefield, crosses through the property.

Last fall Coyle had preliminary talks with the state Parks Department, which wanted to purchase an easement for the old road and turn it into a walking trail.

But those talks stalled when Gov. Steve Beshear shifted $29 million in bond money to the Kentucky Horse Park for preparations for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Council member Clay said she was encouraged that Coyle wanted to preserve the Old Mackville Road corridor.

“I think that’s something we should look into,” Clay said. “We do receive a lot of visitors to the battlefield. And I think walking the land that the soldiers walked would be an interesting and agreeable thing to promote.”

Good news indeed. Thanks to everyone who called after reading about this situation on this blog. Together we prove the power we have to preserve hallowed ground.

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Food for another blog entry – “Top ten visitors centers for a battlefield.”

So wrote Craig Swain in a comment to the last post. “What a great idea,” I thought to myself. So, here goes….

One note of caution. I’m not a Western Theater guy. I’ve been to Vicksburg once, and while I’m sure I was in the VC, I have absolutely no recollection of it whatsoever. I’ve never been to Stones River. I’ve been to Chickamauga and Shiloh once each and have only the vaguest of memories of the visitor centers there. Consequently, you’re not going to find any major Western Theater VC’s on this list.

1. Gettysburg. It’s the granddaddy of them all. Old, dumpy, dingy, dark, and in a place it never should have been built, the old VC at Gettysburg was my first visitor center. Maybe it was the unique electric map. Maybe it was the amazing collection of artifacts. Maybe it was the Cyclorama. Whatever it was, the place has always resonated with me, crummy as it may be. It gets my vote as the sentimental favorite.

2. Tredegar Works, Richmond. Sentimentality aside, Tredegar is THE state of the art. As a general statement, it just doesn’t get any better than this. There are two excellent museums. There are two excellent book stores. There are lots of great things to see in historic structures that helped to arm the Confederacy. The fact that it’s located right on the banks of the James River at Belle Isle only helps, as it brings the misery of the POW’s kept on Belle Isle to life.

3. Monocacy. The new VC at Monocacy is really cool. I especially like the fiber optic troop movement map. It looks like a barn and is quite unobtrusive, but it houses a great collection, some nice exhibits, and a nifty little store.

4. Fort Fisher. The VC at Fort Fisher sits just beyond the piece of the fort that remains intact. It has THE best fiber optic troop movement map I’ve ever seen. This is a North Carolina state park, not a national park.

5. Antietam. This is another example of a VC that never, ever should have been placed where it was, but it’s awfully hard to argue with the vista of South Mountain and the whole battlefield from the upstairs observation deck. The store is tiny and very cramped. I understand it’s next for a new VC.

6. Bentonville. This VC features another spectacular fiber optic troop movement map drawn by Mark Moore (who did the one at Fort Fisher, too). There are some really good exhibits there, and a decent little book store. Like Fort Fisher, this is a North Carolina state park.

7. Averasboro. Averasboro is owned by a private foundation. The VC is a house that’s been converted. It’s got a small museum with a nice little gift shop with a pretty good selection of books. Averasboro is a model for how to preserve, mark, and interpret a battlefield using private dollars.

8. Belle Grove/Cedar Creek. Belle Grove is one of my very favorite antebellum houses. I just love the place. It drips with history.

9. Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry combines a pre-war town with a battlefield. The VC is remote from the town, and you have to take a shuttle to get to Bolivar Heights or to the town proper, but the store has a great selection, and there are some fabulous exhibits at the VC.

10. Ball’s Bluff. I couldn’t resist including this one. The VC at Ball’s Bluff is a porta-potty in the parking lot. Gotta love it. 🙂

Distinctly missing from this list is Pamplin Park. That’s a private venture which has had tens of million dollars thrown at it, and it simply is an unfair comparison to any of these other places.

I’d like to invite my readers to include your lists in the comments.

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