(July 2007) WHEELING, W.Va. - The National Civil War Memorial featured in the last issue of Civil War News will not be built in Wheeling.

On June 6 the memorial commission board voted to no longer pursue the project "because of the lack of an official designation of the site through the federal government," according to a press release.

Reviewing the two-and-a-half-year effort on the project, commission chairman Robert DeFrancis said, "The board almost immediately recognized that for the National Civil War Memorial to be a success in Wheeling, some type of national designation, preferably through the U.S. Congress, was a necessity."

A survey of potential donors found their decisions to donate "would be predicated on the national designation."

The U.S. does not have a national Civil War memorial, which was conservatively expected to attract 250,000 visitors a year to Wheeling.

However, the board took its unanimous vote to drop the memorial project "after it was determined it was not possible to gain congressional support for the site designation." This was despite a letter-writing campaign to state Congressmen.

Sculptor Gary Casteel of Lexington, Va., who conceived of the memorial and had created several bas-relief portraits for the memorial, is involved in talks with others interested in the project. DeFrancis said the board's vote "does not hamper the sculptor, Casteel, from attempting to have his vision located in another U.S. city."

DeFrancis said about $125,000 was received in donations and spent on the project. The board published a formal business plan, hired fund-raising consultants and met frequently over the years. Part of the plan was to include a campaign for conserving and housing the state's Civil War battle flags at West Virginia Independence Hall. State and other fundraising for that project was successful.

The board and other area organizations will continue to pursue educational projects related to the Civil War and its sesquicentennial.

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