by David Fraley
And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to ponder and dream; and lo! The shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls."
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - October 3, 1889 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, upon receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the American Civil War
The above words were spoken over 113 years ago on a hallowed field in rural Pennsylvania where brave Americans, on both sides of the conflict, once fought an incredible battle in 1863. Today, one can return to that very “deathless field to ponder and dream,” as long as one can do so over the sound of passing trucks on a nearby highway.
There also exist hallowed fields in Franklin, Tennessee, where another battle took place on the 30th of November 1864. That particular fight would comprise perhaps the bloodiest moments and hours in American military history. Most of the ten thousand casualties that fell there literally fell in mere moments. Yet today little remains of this sacred plot that is not commercially developed and suffocated by pavement and concrete. And the few remaining open parcels of our battlefields are threatened with a similar fate.
>A wise philosopher once postulated that if we forget our collective past, we are likely, indeed doomed, to repeat it. Ponder his advice, and then consider your own past as an American. Were you born in the 1920’s, 1930’s or 1940’s? If so, you no doubt recall the horrors of the Second World War and the Korean Conflict. Were you born in the 1950’s or 1960’s? Then perhaps you recall the Vietnam Conflict. Were you born in the 1970’s or 1980’s? Then the Persian Gulf War must be an event that you remember.
Some would speculate that on September 10, 2001, many in this country had collectively forgotten Pearl Harbor, only to be tragically reminded the following day when terrorists again struck America by surprise. Whatever the case, we can perhaps all agree that while warfare is sadly sometimes necessary to defend our way of life, we certainly have no wish to unnecessarily revisit those days darkened by war. Simply put, we must remember and learn from our past to keep from repeating it.
Our battlefields are disappearing quickly, and with them go our history. This does not have to happen! Planned development and historic preservation can co-exist, but only when civic duty and patriotism become more compelling than greed and personal gain.
I am an historic preservationist because I believe that it is my duty as an American. I further believe that being an American is a great privilege, and that such a privilege must never be taken for granted. I literally stand in awe at the recollection of the brave men and women who fought and often died to make this amazing, though never perfect, nation what it is today. Reading about these brave souls inspires me greatly-but visiting the actual places, the battlefields both here and abroad where these events once transpired, is so much more meaningful.
Preserving this hallowed ground upon which our nation was forged, and by doing so remembering our past, is vital, now more than ever. Just look at today’s headlines in your newspapers and ask yourselves if you’d like your children and grandchildren to repeat such tragic events as those we’re now experiencing?
Please do your part, indeed, your duty, as an American. Please save and preserve our hallowed battlefields! -- David Fraley
[Mr. Fraley is the Military Historian at the Carter House Museum in Franklin, Tennessee]
American Battlefield Protection Program
National Park Service
P.O. Box 37127
Suite 250
Washington, DC 20013-7127
Phone: (202) 343-3941 Fax: (202) 343-1836
American Civil War Association (ACWA)
P.O. Box 61075
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-1075
E-mail: MajorAWH@aol.com
(Major Arthur W. Henrick)
American Civil War Historical Reenactment
P.O. Box 432
Kleinburg, Ontario
L0J 1C0
Email: membershipinfo@home.com
Armies of Tennessee, CSA & USA
P.O. Box 91
Rosedale, IN 47874
Phone: (317) 548-2594
Civil War Society
P.O. Box 770
Berryville, VA 22611
Phone: (540) 955-1176
Fax: (540) 955-2321
E-mail: cwmag@mnsinc.com
Membership: 1-800-247-6253
Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation
P.O. Box 229
Middletown, VA 22645
Phone: (540) 869-2064
Fax: (540) 869-1438
E-mail: cedarcrk@visuallink.com
Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War
National Headquarters
503 South Walnut Street
Springfield, IL 62704-1932
Phone: (217) 544-0616
E-mail: DUVCW@aol.com
The General Longstreet Memorial Fund
c/o The North Carolina Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
112 Offset Farm Road
Sanford, NC 27330
Phone: (919) 258-6966
E-mail: thomas@ils.unc.edu
Internet: The General Longstreet Memorial Fund
Georgia Historical Society
501 Whitaker Street
Savannah, GA 31499
Phone: (912) 651-2125
Library: (912) 651-2128
Fax: (912) 651-2831
E-mail: ghs@georgiahistory.com
Internet: Georgia Historical Society
Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association
P.O. Box 4087
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone: (717) 337-0031
Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County
P.O. Box 723
510 Columbia Avenue
Franklin, TN 37065-0723
Phone: (615) 591-8500
Fax: (615) 591-8502
Internet: Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County
Heritage Preservation Association
P.O. Box 98209
Atlanta, GA 30359-1909
Phone: (770) 928-2714
Fax: (770) 928-2719
Membership: 1-800-86 DIXIE
Email: HPA@america.net
Internet: www.hpa.org
Irish Brigade Association
GAR Media 38-11 Ditmars Blvd.,
#193 Astoria, NY 11105-1803
Phone: (201) 694-7792
E-mail: iba@thewildgeese.com
Internet: www.thewildgeese.com/iba/
Iron Brigade Association
Carroll College
Institute for Civil War Studies
100 North East Avenue
Waukesha, WI 53186
E-mail: civilwar@carroll1.cc.edu
Internet: http://carroll1.cc.edu/civilwar/ibassoc.html
Kentucky Historical Society
P.O. Box 1792
Frankfort, KY 40602-1792
Phone: (502) 564-3016
Fax: (502) 564-4701
Internet: www.state.ky.us/agencies/khs/
The Lee-Jackson Foundation
P.O. Box 8121
Charlottesville, VA 22906
Phone: (804) 977-1861
Internet: www.bitlink.com/leejackson/
Military Order of the Stars and Bar
P.O. Box 59
Columbia, TN 38402-0059
Phone: (615) 380-1844
Internet: http://scv.org/mosb/
The Museum of the Confederacy
1201 East Clay St.
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 649-1861
Fax: (804) 644-7150
National Civil War Association
P.O. Box 70084
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Phone: (408) 927-7651 (recorded information line)
Email: info@ncwa.org
Internet: http://ncwa.org/
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 588-6000
Fax: (202) 673-4038
Membership: 1-800-944-6847 or 202-588-6166
Membership E-mail: members@nthp.org
Internet: www.nationaltrust.org
National Woman's Relief Corps
Auxillary to the Grand Army of the Republic
629 South Seventh Street
Springfield, IL 62703
Mail:
c/o Laurene I. Wentworth, National Secretary
P.O. Box 195
New Durham, NH 03855
E-mail: streeterla@cbpu.com
Internet: http://suvcw.org/wrc.htm
Ohio Civil War Association
106 Haig Street
Celina, OH 45822
Phone: (419) 586-5294
Fax: (419) 586-6763
Point Lookout POW Organization
1214 Moyer Road
Newport News, VA 23608
E-mail: plpow@erols.com
Internet: http://members.tripod.com/~PLPOW/plpow.htm
Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association
P.O. Box 65
Perryville, KY 40468
Phone: (606) 332-1862
Fax: (606) 332-1865
Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th Inf Regiment NC
2139 Buffalo Shoals Road
Catawba, NC 28609
Phone: (704) 241-4483
Fax: (704) 327-3643
Email: SEACO@aol.com
Sons of Confederate Veterans
P.O. Box 59
Columbia, TN 38402-0059
Phone: 1-800-MY-SOUTH
Phone: 1-800-MY-DIXIE
Fax: 931-381-6712
E-mail: exedir@scv.org or webmaster@scv.org
Internet: http://www.scv.org
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW)
1200 S. Monroe Street
Arlington, VA 22204-4219
Email: webmaster@suvcw.org or amjohnson@juno.com
Internet: http://suvcw.org/
South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, Inc.
P.O. Box 12441
James Island, SC 29412
Phone: (803) 762-3563
E-mail: webmaster@scbattlegrounds.org
Internet: www.scbattlegrounds.org/index.htm
United Daughters of the Confederacy
328 North Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4057
Phone: (804) 355-1636
Fax: (804) 353-1396
Email: hqudc@aol.com
Internet: www.hqudc.org
The United States Civil War Center
Louisiana State University
Raphael Semmes Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: (225) 388-3151
Fax: (225) 388-4876
Email: madden@cwc.lsu.edu
Internet: http://www.cwc.lsu.edu
