The Battle for Civil War Preservation
The Civil War was perhaps America’s greatest conflict, in which nearly 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. Unfortunately, there is an epidemic which has affected the historical community for decades. Many battle sites where thousands sacrificed themselves for abolition or freedom, are today unnoticeable. After the war, twenty Union states and eleven post-Confederate states all wanted to memorialize where their soldiers had fought. Still to this day, many less known battle sites have little to no monuments. Even worse, some of these sites hardly have any recognition at all. Alas, there is hope to stop the decay of Civil War battle sites. Ever since the Civil War Sesquicentennial, preservation has been greatly rising. Throughout the last decade, considerable amounts of battle sites have become officially recognized as “battlefields”. Thus, it is very important to conserve historical sites from the Civil War. All generations should honor those who gave their lives to many important causes.
Perhaps the person who was most affected by Civil War preservation is James Lighthizer. Originally, Lighthizer was a member of the Maryland State Legislature which funded many parks throughout the state. In 1991, Lighthizer was promoted to Maryland’s Secretary of Transportation, in which he experienced much of the country through travel. Although not a historian, Lighthizer had a great interest in Civil War history. While exploring many of the nation’s battle sites, Lighthizer observed that much of the land was not acknowledged. The main factor which brought battlefield preservation into Lighthizer’s mind occurred during a trip to Virginia. When touring the battle site at Fredericksburg, he noticed that there was most certainly a problem. There were nearly 18,000 casualties at the Battle of Fredericksburg and only one small park commemorated the conflict. The Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park only recognized a small ridge called Marye’s Heights as the Fredericksburg portion of the park. On December 13, 1862, the most intense fighting did indeed happen at Marye’s Heights, but the day before (December 12, 1862) also had a great conflict. This battle took place on Prospect Hill south of Fredericksburg, at a place referred to as the Slaughter Pen Farm. Here Union General George Meade made a breakthrough into the infantry lines of Confederate “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps. Even though the battle was a Union loss, Meade showed that he was a talented commander, which probably foretold his victory at Gettysburg. The fact that there was not a proper memorial to the battle which occurred at the Slaughter Pen Farm (except for a small pyramid in the middle of a field which represented where the southern flank was) greatly irritated Lighthizer. Since so many people died fighting for the cause to end slavery, Lighthizer believed that it was unacceptable to not preserve the battle sites. Thus, after surveying more disregarded battlefields throughout the country, Lighthizer knew something had to be done. After contacting several organizations, Lighthizer’s desires were mostly completed by the Civil War Preservation Trust. After becoming a member of the organization, James Lighthizer was promoted President of the Civil War Trust in 1999. Even though many of his criticisms had been corrected, Lighthizer designed a plan to create a battlefield park at the Slaughter Pen Farm (which is supposed to be completed in 2016). From desire to control, James Lighthizer’s dream of having more accessible battlefields was completed (“O. James Lighthizer”) (Howland).
Now lead by James Lighthizer, the Civil War Trust is the most recognized organization in the field of Civil War preservation. Working out of Washington DC, the Civil War Trust is the leading organization in Civil War preservation. In 1987, the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) was created to preserve battle sites in the growing suburbs of Washington, such as Manassas. Four years later, another organization was also created to conserve the battle sites, the Civil War Trust. Since the two associations were basically the same, they combined in 1999 to form the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). The CWPT’s ambition was to make all battle sites accessible for every person to witness. The CWPT also preserved historic land at four times the rate of the National Park Service. In celebration to the beginning of the Civil War Sesquicentennial in 2011, the CWPT changed its name back to the Civil War Trust, which is still used today. By 2014, the Civil War Trust had saved 40,000 acres of battlefield, mostly at places such as Petersburg, Appomattox, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. After preserving the land, the Civil War Trust donates it to the National Park Service for all people to experience. Even with geographical and legal complications, the Civil War Trust bestows its time and effort so all people can observe where thousands died for their country.
Overall, it is important that all Civil War and historical sites are preserved before time runs out. Many regiments and states are not remembered for their sacrifice in certain battlefields. Sometimes the battle site itself is not well recognized, but with people and organizations like the Civil War Trust, these dilemmas can be cured. All people should be able to witness history, and explore the conflicts which shaped America today. Many organizations take donations, and general support also influences the preservation of history. The soldiers, politicians, and people of the Civil War most certainly would want to be remembered, and it is about time that we make it possible to do so.
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Works Cited
"Civil War Trust History." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Howland, Chris. "James Lighthizer, Civil War Trust President | HistoryNet." HistoryNet. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
"O. James Lighthizer." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.