Monday, September 28, 2009

History Under Siege...The Civil War Preservation Trust Works Hard to Save our Sites

The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), the nation’s largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization, is accepting nominations through its website for an annual report on endangered Civil War battlefields. The report, entitled History Under Siege®, identifies the most threatened Civil War sites in the United States and what can be done to rescue them.

“Too often the threats to our priceless historical treasures go unnoticed,” noted CWPT President James Lighthizer. “This report is a rallying cry to the nation, a powerful reminder that our hallowed battlefields are in imminent danger.”

Nominate a battlefield
History Under Siege 2009

History Under Siege® is part of CWPT’s ongoing effort to protect America’s remaining Civil War battlefields. Every day 30 acres of hallowed ground associated with Civil War battlefields fall victim to development, succumbing to the backhoe and the bulldozer. Once lost, these historic treasures can never be replaced.

The 2010 endangered battlefields report will be released next spring in Washington, D.C. Any Civil War battlefield is eligible to for nomination and consideration. The chosen sites will be selected based on geographic location, military significance and the immediacy of current threats.

“From Pennsylvania to New Mexico, the battlefields where the Civil War was fought are under siege,” Lighthizer remarked. “Nominations from concerned citizens, history buffs and preservation activists help us stay aware of the most current threats to a wide variety of battlefields.”

Among the ten sites identified in the 2009 report were Cedar Creek, Virginia; Monocacy, Maryland; and Spring Hill, Tennessee. The report also mentioned 15 “at risk” battlefields that, although seriously threatened, did not make the final ten. Each year, the report raises public awareness of the threats to historic sites, leading to victories for preservationists. “Thanks in part to the publicity generated by the report, we expect continued successes in the remainder of the year and in the future,” Lighthizer predicted.

Individuals and groups are encouraged to fill out the nomination form available online at http://www.civilwar.org/endangerednomination. Applications must include a detailed description of specific threats facing the site. Submission of relevant recent photographs is also encouraged. Nominations must be received no later than October 10, 2009.

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’s website is http://www.civilwar.org/.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Antietam & South Mountain Celebrate Anniversaries!

This month, Antietam National Battlefield and South Mountain State Battlefield will commemorate the 147th anniversaries of the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of South Mountain. Each park is offering a variety of anniversary events including special tours, musical performances, and living history demonstrations.

The Antietam National Battlefield schedule of events commemorating the Battle of Antietam, fought September 17, 1862 is:

Friday, September 11

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Living History-The United States Sanitary Commission
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Meet at the visitor center and then walk to the camp near the Dunker Church .

Program: Ranger Led Automobile Tour
Time: 1:30 p.m. (Duration 2 ½ hours)
Location: Visitor Center Observation Room Description: Ranger provides overview at Visitor Center , take your car and follow the Ranger to the Cornfield, Sunken Road & Burnside Bridge .

Program: Living History-The United States Sanitary Commission
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Meet at the visitor center and then walk to the camp near the Dunker Church

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 3:00 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center Description: Join the ranger for an overview of the battle.

Program: Living History-The United States Sanitary Commission
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Meet at the visitor center and then walk to the camp near the Dunker Church

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 4:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center Description: Join the ranger for an overview of the battle.

Program: Commemoration Ceremony
Location: The Dunker Church
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Description: Lt. Col. Louis A. Mercado, USMC War College , Quantico , VA will be our guest speaker for the Commemoration.

Program: Battle Anniversary Guest Speaker
Location: Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Description: "Lee at Antietam " – Elizabeth Brown Pryor. Join this award winning author for an examination of Lee in the campaign and battle based on original research and many previously unpublished accounts. Aspects that will be covered include Lee’s motives for invasion, his observations of the battle, his relationship with his officers, and more. Our speaker is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters.

Saturday, September 12

Program: In-Depth Battlefield Hike: The Attacks of the I and XII Corps
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: New York State Monument

Program: Battlefield in a Box
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Ranger Led Automobile Tour
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Duration 2 ½ hours)
Location: Visitor Center Observation Room

Program: Wildcat Regiment Brass Band Concert
Time: 11:15 a.m.
Location: The Dunker Church Description: This program will include a concert, and discussion on Brass Bands and the American Civil War.

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 12:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center Description: Join the ranger for an overview of the battle.

Program: In-Depth Battlefield Hike: The Attack of Sumner’s Corps
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: New York State Monument Description: A battlefield hike that will focus on the time of the battle from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Program: Ranger Led Automobile Tour
Time: 1:30 p.m. (Duration 2 ½ hours)
Location: Visitor Center Observation Room

Program: Wildcat Regiment Brass Band Grand Concert
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Mumma Farm Barn (A shuttle bus will be available from the visitor center parking lot.) Description: The band members play period instruments and music popular during the Civil War.

Program: Antietam Anniversary Guest Speaker
Time: 3:15 p.m.
Location: Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center Description: "The Army of Northern Virginia in the Maryland Campaign" – Joseph T. Glatthaar. In the late summer and early fall of 1862, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was an army in transition. Our speaker will reassess Lee’s army based on more than nine years of research into over 4,000 primary sources such as letters, diaries and official reports. Joseph T. Glatthaar is the author of General Lee’s Army: From Victory to Collapse, a selection of The History Book Club.

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 3:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 4:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Living History-The United States Sanitary Commission
Time: Informal programs all day at the campsite
Location: Dunker Church

Sunday, September 13

Program: In-Depth Battlefield Hike: The Middle and Lower Bridge
Time: 8:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
Location: Meet at the Lower Bridge , Tour Stop 9

Program: Battlefield in a Box
Time: 9:00 a.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Ranger Led Automobile Tour
Time: 10:00 p.m. (Duration 2 ½ hours)
Location: Visitor Center Observation Room

Program: Infantry & Sharpshooter Firing Demonstrations
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Artillery Firing Demonstrations Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 12:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: In-Depth Battlefield Hike: Attack of the IX Corps
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Meet at the Lower Bridge , Tour Stop 9

Program: Ranger Led Automobile Tour
Time: 1:30 p.m. (Duration 2 ½ hours)
Location: Visitor Center Observation Room

Program: Infantry & Sharpshooter Firing Demonstrations
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Artillery Firing Demonstrations
Time: 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Antietam Anniversary Guest Speaker
Time: 3:15 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center Description: "Ezra Carman and the Creation of the Antietam National Battlefield" – Thomas Clemens. The establishment of Antietam National Battlefield is due in large part to the work of Colonel Ezra Carman. An actual veteran of Antietam , Carman began researching what happened here within days after the battle. His research turned into a lifetime endeavor and Carman served as the historian for the Battlefield Board. In the process he corresponded with hundreds of veterans to get their accounts of what occurred on that bloody September day in 1862. Our speaker is one of this country’s leading authorities on Carman and is currently working on a book on the subject. Thomas Clemens is a history professor at Hagerstown Community College and is a founder and President of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation.

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 3:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Program: Orientation Talk
Time: 4:30 p.m. (Duration 30 minutes)
Location: Visitor Center

Thursday, September 17

A special hike, Morning in the Cornfield, will meet at tour stop 4, The Cornfield. This program starts at 7:00 a.m. and will last an hour. An all day hike of the battlefield will be in two parts with the first one starting at 9:00 a.m. near the park visitor center. The afternoon hike will begin at the National Cemetery Parking Lot, on the north side of MD. RT. 34 across from the National Cemetery . The starting time for this program is 1:30 p.m. and the hike will end back at the lot at approximately 5:00 p.m. The morning and afternoon hikes will each be four miles in length and the Morning in the Cornfield hike is one mile.

Antietam National Battlefield has an entrance fee of $4 per person or $6 per family, which covers admission to the park and all programs for a three-day period. For more information call the Visitor Center at 301-432-5124 or visit www.nps.gov/anti.

The schedule of events commemorating the Battle of South Mountain, fought September 14, 1862 is:

Saturday, September 12th
Location: Washington Monument State Park
9:00 a.m.: Visitor Center and Museum open
10:00 a.m.: Overview Talk of the Maryland Campaign
11:00 a.m.: Infantry and Artillery Demonstration
1:00 p.m.: Civilians in the Civil War Talk
2:00 p.m.: Infantry and Artillery Demonstration
3:00 p.m.: Walking Tour of the Washington Monument

Sunday, September 13th
Location: Washington Monument State Park
9:00 a.m.: Visitor Center and Museum Open
11:00 a.m.: Overview Talk of the Maryland Campaign
12:00 a.m.: Walking Tour of the Washington Monument
2:00 p.m.: Life of the Civil War Infantryman Talk
3:00 p.m.: Civilians in the Civil War Talk

Monday, September 14th
Location:
9:00 a.m.: Real-time Tour of the Opening Phases at Fox's Gap led by National Park Service Ranger Isaac Forman
2:00 p.m.: Real-time Tour of the Afternoon Phases at Fox's Gap led by Maryland State Park Interpreter John Miller
4:00 p.m.: Real-time Tour of Crampton's Gap led by Maryland State Park Interpreter Steven Lopez

There is a $2 per vehicle entrance fee for Washington Monument State Park . All programs are free. For more information call Washington Monument State Park at 301-432-8065 or visit www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/southmountain.html.

To learn more about Washington County , visit the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau website at www.marylandmemories.com. Washington County is part of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (www.heartofthecivilwar.com), and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area (http://hallowedground.org). Washington County is also part of the Quad-State Tourism Coalition, a four-state tourism group along I-81. For more information, see: www.quadstate81.com