If Americans are going to visit one Civil War battlefield in their lifetime, by reason of proximity alone Gettysburg is likely to be that battlefield. Like it or not, Gettysburg is the most appropriate NPS venue for interpreting the Civil War as a whole, not just the battle that defined it. I have no trouble understanding why the new Visitors Center looks like it looks and does what it does. Traditional museums have been reaching fewer and fewer patrons over the past thirty years. Society changes, as do its priorities; museums and interpretive styles change to reflect the shifting demographics of their patrons, or cease to be relevant. Deal with it. The average visitor to Gettysburg in 2010 has less base knowledge of the Civil War than did the average visitor who grew up in the centennial era; in fact, the average visitor is much less likely to be an American.

Artifacts have unequaled power to invoke a particular time and place, but they’re useless to future generations if they haven’t been preserved. I have a little experience with this; trust me, curators operate on a bit longer timeline than most historians and history buffs. Not displaying the entire Rosensteel collection is anything but a disaster. Americans will able to visit Gettysburg in 2863 for the battle’s millennial observances and see the Rosensteel artifacts because of the NPS conservation measures recently initiated. Let’s remember, too, that interpretive plans and styles change relatively frequently, at least once every couple of generations. Let’s give the next fifty generations the broadest array of options possible to interpret and understand the significance of this great American place.