(April 2006) WASHINGTON, D.C. - A proposed casino a mile from the Gettysburg battlefield, the planned widening of Interstate 81 through the battlefields of the Shenandoah Valley, and destruction of the Chattahoochee River Line in Georgia are among the assaults on Civil War battlefields outlined by the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) in its annual listing of the "10 most endangered" sites.

The Trust released its report on the status of the country's Civil War battlegrounds Feb. 28 during a news conference at the National Press Club. "History Under Siege: A Guide to America's Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields" identifies the most threatened sites plus 10 more "at risk" sites, and suggests what can be done to rescue them. (The full report is available at www.civilwar.org.)

Trust President Jim Lighthizer warned that battlefields "are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Hallowed ground, where more than 600,000 Americans gave their lives, is being paved over in favor of shopping malls, housing tracts and even gambling casinos."

Joining Lighthizer was Ben Stein, a battlefield preservationist and actor, writer and economist. He called the Civil War "the bloodiest conflict but also the densest concentration of courage ever shown on this continent.

"America's Civil War battlefields are where that courage is best memorialized," Stein added. "Let's keep them glorious and beautiful, keep them above commerce."

Also participating was Dr. Libby O'Connell, chief historian of the History Channel, who oversees "Save Our History," the channel's campaign for preservation and history education. A trustee of the Trust, O'Connell stated, "These endangered Civil War battlefields are the places where so many Americans made the greatest sacrifice for their country. They must be protected."

The 10 Most Endangered

Gettysburg, Pa., where a casino is proposed to be built a mile from East Cavalry Field. The most visited battlefield in the country, Gettysburg witnessed the war's largest and bloodiest battle in July 1863.

Shenandoah Valley, Va., where a consortium of developers wants to double the width of busy I-81, a major trucking artery that runs the length of the Valley. The Cedar Creek battlefield and 10 others are threatened by the loss of ground and a significant increase in noise and visual pollution.

Chattahoochee River Line, Ga., where "immense suburban development" has devastated the defensive line that Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston set up along the northern bank of the river in the wake of the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Most of the features of the line "have been destroyed by property owners who feared that historic details would impede development plans."

Glorieta Pass, N.M., where heavy traffic along Route 50, which runs through the heart of the battlefield, keeps the site closed to visitors. They can only view through their car windows the battlefield where Federal forces finally turned back the Southern invasion of New Mexico, ending dreams of a Southern republic stretching to the Pacific. Circle Forts, Washington, D.C., where growing neighborhoods have largely absorbed the ring of 68 fortifications erected to protect the Union capital. "None [of the forts] are preserved as thoroughly as their rich heritage deserves."

Fort Morgan, Ala., which has fallen into "significant disrepair." Safety concerns have closed portions of the site to the public and its future management is uncertain. Here on Mobile Bay in the summer of 1864 Union Adm. David Farragut attempted to pass the fort, uttering his famous "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The fort fell after an 18-day Federal bombardment.

Glendale, Va., where construction has begun on three housing projects surrounding the battlefield, with three more planned. Here at Glendale, or Frayser's Farm, savage fighting caused 6,500 casualties and marked the fifth day of the famous 1862 Seven Days Campaign around Richmond.

New Orleans Forts, La., where intense damage caused by Hurricane Katrina last year has compromised the structural integrity of two forts that stand on opposite banks of the Mississippi River 70 miles south of New Orleans. In the spring of 1862 the two garrisons held Adm. Farragut's flotilla at bay for a week before Union gunboats broke through to capture New Orleans. Today it is "entirely uncertain" when it will be safe for the public to return to these sites.

Raymond, Miss., where development pressure is rising along Highway 18, which connects the battlefield to the nearby suburbs of Jackson. Only 65 acres of the 1,000-acre battlefield are protected, although Raymond was a "major turning point" in Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign.

Wilderness, Va., where Orange County "is transforming itself from a largely rural area to a suburban community with immense population growth and proposed home construction," threatening parts of the battlefield not protected by the National Park Service. Here 25,000 dead and wounded were left in the Wilderness after two days of fighting in May 1864.

The 10 'At Risk' Sites

The Trust cited an additional 10 "at risk" sites, the Belmont battlefield in Kentucky and Missouri, which is succumbing to erosion by the Mississippi River; Buckland, Va., where Route 29 is causing traffic and sprawl pressures; Cedar Mountain, Va., located near Culpeper, the fastest-growing town in the state; Cynthiana, Ky., where residential development is encroaching on the battlefield; and Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., where heavy traffic through the park is increasing pressure to widen roads, while sprawl engulfs the park's environs.

Also, Manassas, Va., where traffic congestion and development press in on the park; Mansfield, La., where a strip-mining company continues to decimate the battlefield; Shepherdstown, W.Va., where preservationists are fighting to save the battlefield against residential development that threatens 600 acres of core land;

And, Spring Hill, Tenn., where development is swallowing up what remains of the battlefield; Wyse Fork, N.C., where only 58 of 6,000 acres have been preserved from the second-largest battle to take place in the state. Preservationists are fighting plans for a highway bypass that could bisect the battlefield.

The CWPT, with 75,000 members, is the largest Civil War battlefield preservation group in the country. Last year the nonprofit saved 1,726 acres of battlefield. Since the group's founding more than a decade ago the Trust has protected 22,300 acres at 95 sites in 19 states.

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