Craig Swain on the difference between the BSF and a REAL battlefield preservation organization

Former BSF board member Craig Swain has a very interesting post on his blog today that compares and contrasts the malfeasance of the current board and officers of the Brandy Station Foundation with a REAL battlefield preservation organization, the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association. I commend it to you.

It is important to note that Joseph McKinney, the so-called leader of the Brandy Station Foundation, has been caught in a lie. He told Craig Swain that he knew about the plans to build Lake Troilo before the first spade of dirt was turned, and has subsequently lied about it by denying his prior knowledge. I believe that Craig is absolutely correct in his theory that McKinney saw an opportunity to advance his own agenda by not objecting to the building of Lake Troilo in return for the dam to plug up Flat Run being designed so that it could be used as a bridge for battlefield tours. And for that, McKinney sold out the battlefield he has been charged to protect.

What’s more is that he knew in advance, but failed to tell his board. We know he didn’t tell the board, because I have discussed this with the numerous board members who resigned over his egregious bungling of the Lake Troilo fiasco. In short, he made a conscious decision not to tell his board that a major portion of the battlefield–where the heaviest fighting took place–was about to be destroyed for his own purposes. And that constitutes a breach of his fiduciary duty to the board, to the membership of the BSF, and most importantly, to the battlefield itself.

We all know the truth here. We know what happened. However, I want to challenge Mr. McKinney to provide us with his own version of events. I will publish it here verbatim and without editing or censoring (although I do reserve the right to fix typographical errors), and we will allow him to tell us his version of the story. Whether it will be the truth is an open question, but we shall see. I would guess that he won’t take me up on this offer, but the opportunity for him to do so is there if he wishes to provide the world with his version of these events and justify his malfeasance.