Press Release-Civil War Trust to Preserve Battle of Cool Spring land

For Immediate Release
April 18, 2013

For more information, contact:
Mary Koik, Civil War Trust, (202) 367-1861 x7231
Emily Burner, Shenandoah University, (540) 545-7334

MEDIA ADVISORY:
VIRGINIA OFFICIALS JOIN CIVIL WAR TRUST AND SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY FOR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ANNOUNCEMENT

(Bluemont, Va.) – On Tuesday, April 23, 2013, officials from the Civil War Trust, Shenandoah University and the Commonwealth of Virginia will gather in Clarke County to announce a public-private partnership to preserve historic landscapes associated with the July 1864 Battle of Cool Spring.

The news conference will be held at the former Virginia National Golf Course, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Joining Civil War Trust President James Lighthizer and Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons at the news conference will be Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech, Virginia Director of Historic Resources Kathleen Kilpatrick, Clarke County Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Hobert and other preservation and conservation advocates.

Following the news conference, guests will have an opportunity to learn about the Battle of Cool Spring and the unique ecological and environmental properties of the newly preserved land. Light refreshments will be provided inside the clubhouse. In the event of inclement weather, the news conference will be held indoors.

WHAT: News conference announcing preservation efforts in Clarke County

WHO: Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech, Virginia Director of Historic Resources Kathleen Kilpatrick, Clarke County Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Hobert, Civil War Trust and Shenandoah University officials

WHEN: April 23, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. ET

WHERE: Former Virginia National Golf Course, 1400 Parker Lane, Bluemont, VA 20135

The Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its goal is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War sites and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. To date, the Trust has preserved more than 35,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states. Learn more at www.civilwar.org, the home of the Civil War sesquicentennial.

Rededication of the Olustee Battlefield Monument

 

Rededication of

The Confederate Monument at Olustee

October 13, 2012, 11 a.m. at the Olustee Battlefield State Park

On February 20, 1864, as Union troops stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, continued their march westward to capture the capital at Tallahassee, they were met near the small town of Olustee by Florida’s General Joseph Finnegan and his Confederate troops. The resulting battle was a great win for the Confederate troops. The Battle of Olustee (Southern name) or Ocean Pond (Northern Name) was the largest battle fought in Florida.

 

In 1897 the Florida Division of the UDC began raising funds to place a monument on the battlefield. The Florida legislature voted to spend $2,500 towards the construction of the monument. On October 23, 1912 (100 years ago) the monument was dedicated on the battlefield site. The monument faces south. 

 

The Battle of Olustee was fought on this ground February, 20^th, 1864 between 5,000 Confederate troops commanded by Joseph E. Finnegan and 6,000 Federal troops under General Truman Seymore. The Federals were defeated with 2,000 casualties. The confederate loss was less than 1,000 men.

Please Join the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 11 a.m. for the Rededication of the Confederate Monument that was originally dedicated 100 years ago.

Dinner on the Grounds (covered dish) will follow after the Rededication program.

“Departed, but Not Forgotten!”

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CALL: Commander Larry Rosenblatt @ 904-993-5019 or rlrosenblatt@comcast.net via Internet.

CWT--Cedar Creek Battlefield

I received the following information from the Civil War Trust regarding an important upcoming fundraising campaign.

Media Advisory: Government Officials, Preservation Advocates Gather to Anounce Major Fundraising Campaign at Cedar Creek

(Middletown, Va.) – On Thursday, February 9, 2012, officials from the Civil War Trust, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service and national and local historic preservation groups will gather to announce a $1.3 million fundraising campaign to preserve 77 acres of hallowed battlefield land on the Cedar Creek Battlefield in Frederick County, Va. 

The news conference will be held at historic Belle Grove Plantation, a key battlefield landmark, beginning at 9:30 a.m. (rain or shine). James Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Trust, will serve as the emcee for the event. He will be joined by Diann Jacox, superintendent of Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park; Kathleen Kilpatrick, Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources; and eminent historian and author Dr. Gary Gallagher, John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia.

WHAT: News conference announcing fundraising campaign to save historic land at Cedar Creek Battlefield

WHO: Virginia Director of Historic Resources Kathleen Kilpatrick, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Superintendent Diann Jacox, historian Dr. Gary Gallagher, and Civil War Trust President James Lighthizer

WHEN: February 9, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. ET

WHERE: Belle Grove Plantation, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, Va.

The Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its goal is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War sites and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. To date, the Trust has preserved more than 32,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states, including nearly 533 acres at Cedar Creek. Please visit the Trust’s website at www.civilwar.org, the home of the Civil War sesquicentennial.

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(For more information about Battle of Cedar Creek, visit www.civilwar.org/cedarcreek)

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Contacts

• Jim Campi, (202) 367-1861 x7205
• Mary Koik, (202) 367-1861 x7231

Related Links

• Belle Grove Plantation
• Cedar Creek and Belle Grove Natioanl Historical Park

Battlefields

• Battle of Cedar Creek

History Channel Encourages Battlefield Preservation

The History Channel is sponsoring a fundraising drive called Give150. Read details below.


In commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, HISTORY invites all Americans to help preserve Civil War sites and stories through the Give 150TM national campaign. Give 150TM donations will go directly to the Civil War Trust and the National Park Foundation, both non-profit 501(c)3 organizations, to help protect Civil War sites and lands, and support their interpretation.

Give 150TM will also provide the American public with the opportunity to actively give back to their own communities through service and preservation activities.

While we all know the channel is short on actual history most of the time this is a worthwhile project that might reach those who would not have been aware of these Let's hope it raises a lot of money that can be put to good use!

Florida Civil War sites on state chopping block

Times are tough all around and yet governments continue to make bad decisions. Please read Dale Cox's excellent report on what the state of Florida is considering.

State park closings should be looked at VERY closely before enacting them. The $6.5 million in estimated savings could come at the expense of 53 state owned parks used by families, seniors, tourists, and more. Dale properly points out the economic loss that will be felt by localities that could lose these parks. Free or low cost entertainment during what for many are hard times? Forget it!

With the current administration in Florida is the thought of selling off properties all that far fetched? Or better yet maybe they will sell naming rights like state parks are a sports stadium. I can see it now...Welcome to the Pepsi Fort Mose Historic State Park. Or better yet thanks for visiting The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park presented by Kmart.

For those of us with an interest in the Civil War please note that both the Olustee Battlefield and Natural Bridge Battlefield are on the list of possible closings. The Civil War Trust recently helped raise funds for the Natural Bridge site. The leading battlefield preservation organization in the country helps you save precious lands and then you close them off.  That makes perfect sense to somebody I suppose.

Tough times mean tough choices but I truly believe this a wrong way to go about things. Hopefully our legislators will see past very short term and small savings to see the value to the state in keeping these assets available. There are plenty of other ways to save money. Cutting state parks is not the answer.

Wal Mart Withdraws Wilderness Battlefield Plan

From the National Trust For Historic Preservation this morning. Read their blog here.  Now if some casino pushers in Gettysburg would just get the idea.

Civil War Preservation Trust Report

The Civil War Preservation Trust has released it's annual report on the most endangered battlefields. Click the link below and access the full report. Below is the press release from earlier this week:

Civil War Preservation Trust Releases Annual Report on Nation's Most Endangered Battlefields Best-Selling Author Jeff Shaara Joins Trust to Unveil “History Under Siege” Report(Washington, D.C.) – The iconic Pennsylvania battlefield synonymous with American valor, now facing a second attempt to bring casino gambling to its doorstep; a Virginia crossroads where a single marching order set the Union army on the road to victory, now proposed for a monstrous commercial development; and a rocky Arizona spire where Confederate and Union forces fiercely faced off, now jeopardized by state budget cuts; are some of the nation’s most endangered Civil War battlefields.



At a news conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) unveiled its annual report on the status of the nation’s historic battlegrounds. The report, entitled History Under Siege™: A Guide to America’s Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields, identifies the most threatened Civil War sites in the United States and what can be done to save them.

“All across the country, our nation’s irreplaceable battlefields – these tangible links to our shared history – are threatened by inappropriate development, misguided public policy, limited financial resources and, in some cases, simple apathy,” said CWPT President James Lighthizer at the report’s unveiling. “Next year marks the Sesquicentennial of the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history, and as we prepare for that seminal moment, it is an opportune time to shine a spotlight on the places that tell America’s story.”

Joining Lighthizer at the news conference was best-selling author Jeff Shaara, who also serves on the CWPT Board of Trustees. The author of nine New York Times bestsellers, Shaara’s novels, including the Civil War-themed Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure, have been praised by historians for their painstaking research. His only non-fiction work, Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields, is a unique and personal tour across ten of America’s most hallowed battlegrounds. In testament to his commitment to historic preservation, Shaara donated the entire advance from the project toward battlefield protection efforts.

“Nothing creates an emotional connection between present and past like walking in the footsteps of our Civil War soldiers,” said Shaara. “I hope that by drawing attention to endangered Civil War battlefields, Americans will this see hallowed ground in a new way and understand that these sites must be preserved for future generations to experience.”

Also taking the podium at the news conference was Dr. Mark Snell, director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University. A Civil War scholar and retired army officer, Snell was appointed to the West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the Civil War Commission last summer by Governor Joe Manchin, and was subsequently elected vice-chairman.

“Particularly on the eve of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, there is no more fitting commemoration of American valor than respectfully protecting the land where our soldiers fought and bled,” said Snell.

For three days in the summer of 1863, 160,000 men in blue and gray fought the Civil War’s largest and bloodiest battle around the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 2006, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board rejected a proposal to build a slots parlor near Gettysburg’s East Cavalry Field, citing widespread public opposition to the plan. However, earlier this year the same chief investor rolled the dice again and announced plans for another Gettysburg casino. Although smaller than the previous proposal, this casino would be only one half-mile from Gettysburg National Military Park.

In May 1864, Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s bloody Overland Campaign began in a tangled mass of second-growth trees and scrub known as the Wilderness, Virginia. When portions of Grant’s army attacked elements of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army on May 5, 1864, it was the first time the two legendary commanders met in battle. In August 2009, the Orange County, Va. Board of Supervisors approved a massive commercial center featuring a Walmart and four retailers at the gateway to the historic battlefield. A lawsuit to block the project is pending.

While most of the battles of the Civil War took place on southern soil, Confederate and Union forces engaged in their westernmost struggle at Picacho Peak, Arizona, on April 15, 1862. Confederate Capt. Sherod Hunter raised his flag in the small, frontier settlement of Tucson, hoping to take another step toward the Pacific and the creation of an ocean-to-ocean Confederacy. The Confederate rangers were met by a detachment of Union cavalry under the leadership of Lt. James Barrett near Picacho Peak, a rocky spire 50 miles northwest of Tucson. Although Picacho Peak State Park is a popular tourist destination, it will close to the public on June 3, 2010, due to drastic cuts in the state budget – less than one year before the sesquicentennial of the war,

The Civil War Preservation Trust is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields and to promoting appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. History Under Siege is composed of two parts; one identifying the 10 most endangered battlefields in the nation, and a second section lists 15 additional “at risk” sites also confronted by serious threats. Sites discussed in the report range from the famous to the nearly forgotten, but at least part of each site is in danger of being lost forever. Battlefields were chosen based on geographic location, military significance, and the immediacy of current threats.

History Under Siege™ also includes:

Camp Allegheny, W.Va., December 13, 1861: Early in the war, North and South both strove to gain control over the western counties of Virginia, meeting in a number of engagements among the peaks and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains. Today, the scenic beauty of Camp Allegheny, West Virginia stands to be compromised by a field of 40-story-high wind turbines — 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty — to be built within view of the battlefield.

Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864: In the fall of 1864, Union Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan marched up the fertile Shenandoah Valley, stripping the countryside bare to starve out Confederate forces. After a daring Confederate surprise attack at Cedar Creek, Union forces launched a crushing counterattack, extinguishing the South’s last hope of recovering the Valley. In 2008, the Frederick County Board of Supervisors approved a massive expansion of the mine operating adjacent to Cedar Creek, which would destroy nearly 400 acres of battlefield land crucial to telling the story of this decisive struggle.

Fort Stevens, Washington, D.C., July 11–12, 1864: Fort Stevens was part of an extensive ring of fortifications surrounding Civil War Washington, but in July 1864 those defenses were vulnerable to a direct attack by Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early. President Abraham Lincoln, watching the action from Fort Stevens, came under fire from sharpshooters. Last year, a church adjacent to the fort applied for a zoning exemption to build an immense community center complex. The new construction would tower over the fort, significantly degrading the visitor experience.

Pickett’s Mill, Ga., May 27, 1864: The Battle of Pickett’s Mill was one of the most stinging Union defeats of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign and the first serious check on Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s momentous campaign against this Confederate transportation center. Although Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site is widely regarded as thoroughly preserved and interpreted, the park was forced to reduce its hours significantly due to budget cuts, and last autumn it was inundated by floodwaters that destroyed footbridges and a portion of the historic mill.


Richmond, Ky., August 29–30, 1862: Confederate Maj. Gen. Kirby Smith’s newly-dubbed “Army of Kentucky”—a bearded, shoeless band of rebel soldiers — marched north in the soaring heat of August 1862 and encountered a hastily-formed Union force led by Maj. Gen. William Nelson. The ensuing battle became one of the most decisive Confederate victories of the Civil War. Although the battlefield has been well protected to date, future preservation efforts will be complicated by the addition of a new highway interchange, paving the way for significant commercial growth in an area that has previously experienced little development pressure.

South Mountain, Md., September 14, 1862: In early September 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched an audacious invasion of the North. But when a copy of his orders was discovered by Union soldiers in a field, wrapped around cigars, federal commanders were able to move quickly against the vulnerable Confederates at the Battle of South Mountain. In December 2008, Dominion Power purchased 135 acres of battlefield land for a proposed $55 million natural gas compression station, a plan that has been subsequently suspended with an option to re-file.

Thoroughfare Gap, Va. August 28, 1862: Although a relatively small engagement, the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap was of immense strategic significance, setting the stage for the battles of Second Manassas and, ultimately, Antietam. In February, consultants began seeking comments from the preservation community regarding a proposal to build a 150-foot-tall communications tower within the core battlefield area at Thoroughfare Gap. Although construction of Interstate 66 in the 1960s saw portions of the mountain gap widened, the area retains much of its rural, scenic beauty.

With 55,000 members, CWPT is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to preserve our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds. CWPT has preserved more than 29,000 acres of battlefield land across the nation. CWPT’s website is www.civilwar.org.

Help Franklin's Charge Battlefield and get great cookies

Christie's Cookies is offering to donate 20% of your online purchase price to the Franklin's Charge Battlefield charity now through December 25th. Be sure to use Special Offer Keycode: 25K19 so that the donation can be made.

Franklin just fell short in the contest Christie's had earlier this year on their website so here's a chance to get some great cookies and support a worthy cause!

CWPT New Goal--Appomattox Station

The Civil War Preservation Trust has a new goal. If they are able to raise a mere $15,000 they will be able to use federal and state matching funds along with a private donor to purchase 46 acres at Appomattox Station . The CWPT has put together an amazing $115 to $1 set of matching funds. Check the site to learn more about this incredible opportunity and to see the great maps they have available.

If you can, please consider a donation to help preserve this important land forever.

Win $$$ for Franklin Battlefield

Help win anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 for the Save the Franklin Battlefield organization. The Christie Cookie Company is donating a total of $25,000 to charities that receive the most votes. Register and vote at this link. When I checked earlier today Franklin was number 7 which would qualify it for $1,000. Not bad but lets try to get it up to number 1 or 2 and earn it even more money. Voting is quick and easy.