October 2003

There were 10,466 engagements on American soil during the American Civil War. For the study of the American Revolution and the War of 1812 approximately 3,000 battlefields have been considered. Since the days of Christopher Columbus there have been untold numbers of military actions between Native Americans and European Colonial or United States forces. There has even been combat during World War II on American Soil.

There are literally thousands of battlefields all over the United States that many Americans know very little about, or care if they are preserved. However, it is the legacy of these conflicts that has forged the United States and helped create our cultural identity. To lose this legacy the United States would lose its identity.

Most Americans feel that the battlefields are hallowed ground and must be preserved. Many Americans come to battlefields in order to study military tactics and leadership. Yet others come for patriotic inspiration or to reflect on the event and its repercussions then and now. All Americans who visit these battlefields leave with a better understanding of the violence welded to forge this country and protect our form of government. They appreciate the debt we owe to the men and women who fought and died on these battlefields and helped create the country we live in today.

This debt has driven many to passionately strive for the preservation of the hallowed ground of many battlefields and to influence our national leadership that something must be done to preserve them. This is why the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) was formed.

During the 1980s, then Secretary of the Interior Manual Lujan Jr. had been so appalled over the legislative taking of a parcel of land at Manassas that he looked for strategies to prevent this type of last-minute preservation action. Most preservationists, historians and members of Congress quickly acknowledged that, as a preservation strategy, last-minute federal acquisition is costly and divisive.

Lujan established the ABPP as part of the National Park Service in 1990. The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) was also created by a separate Congressional act in 1990. Many people have often considered the ABPP and the staff for the CWSAC the same. In reality, they were two separate entities, even though they worked very closely together and shared many of the same staff people.

The CWSAC was directed to identify significant Civil War sites, establish the relative significance of these sites, assess their condition, and identify preservation alternatives that federal, state, and local government and public and private organizations could use. The CWSAC Report was issued in 1993. The recommendations included several unique concepts to the idea of preserving the large landscapes of battlefields. The legacy of this study is the continued existence of the ABPP as an arm of the federal government advocating for grassroots preservation efforts and partnerships through a program of technical assistance and preservation grants.

In 1998, Congress directed the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study of sites associated with the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The Park Service determined the study would be conducted by the ABPP. The study is in progress and will soon be completed after surveying approximately 300 battlefields and 500 associated properties. Congress intended for the study to mimic the CWSAC study. However, there are many differences between the two studies.

The Revolution/War of 1812 study does not have a congressionally appointed commission at its head. For the Revolution/War of 1812 study the ABPP asked a subcommittee of the National Park Service Advisory Board to determine the relative significance of battlefields and associated properties of the two wars. The CWSAC was able to meet in locations near many battlefields and tour them. The Revolution/War of 1812 has not had that benefit. Volunteers did many of the CWSAC study surveys. Paid consultants have been completing the Revolution/War of 1812 surveys. The Revolution/War of 1812 study's methodology is much more comprehensive in detail and utilizing GIS/GPS technology than the methodology used for the CWSAC. This will give us a much better picture of the state of preservation of these sites.

Today the ABPP continues the work begun in the early 1990s. Over the years the strength of the ABPP has been the annual grant program providing seed grants for local preservation groups to get started. For the first several years the ABPP focused on Civil War battlefields and carrying through with the recommendations of the CWSAC. However, interest in the preservation of battlefields from other wars has increased.

Early in its existence, the ABPP made a few furtive efforts to assist some of these sites. In 1996, the ABPP was congressionally authorized to work toward the preservation of battles from all wars fought on American soil. During the last several grant rounds the ABPP has received grant requests to provide preservation related activities at battlefields from the colonial wars, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the Texas War for Independence, the War with Mexico, Native American conflicts, and the American Civil War. There have even been a few from World War II battlefields.

Providing Service

The challenge became to expand the level of service to include these other wars, while not slighting the Civil War. This challenge is great. As already presented, there are literally thousands of battlefields all over this country. All of them cannot be saved. The ABPP is committed to working toward protection of significant battle sites associated with all wars fought on American soil. In order to do this an era of shrinking budgets and increasing workloads the ABPP is developing new ways of serving its customers.

In the near future the ABPP will make available to the public much of the information collected on battlefields in a database called the Comprehensive American Battlefield Information Network (CABIN). The CABIN will be available on the World Wide Web and will have an interactive component. This will allow the ABPP to communicate with its partners and keep abreast of the latest news and happenings at specific sites. Interested users will also be able to network with other battlefields facing similar situations for support and information.

In addition, the CABIN will help alleviate one of the problems plaguing the program. A congressionally appointed committee set the 1993 CWSAC battlefield rankings. The ABPP does not have the ability to change them. In the decade since the report was issued many battlefields have changed. Threats have increased or decreased depending on the preservation activity occurring.

There has not been any way to track these changes. The CABIN will help the ABPP begin monitoring the current situation at each battlefield allowing for a periodic (possibly Bi-annual) report on the status of each battlefield. The ABPP will be able to assess threats and change rankings based on current, not decade old, data.

In order to be reviewed in this monitoring program the ABPP will need minimum baseline data as a start. This is the survey methodology that has been used to record the state of preservation at battlefields for the Civil War and Revolution/War of 1812 studies. The ABPP is committed to providing assistance to battlefields that have not been surveyed in the course of these two studies. For example, the ABPP has partnered with Fort Necessity National Battlefield to survey French and Indian War sites in Western Pennsylvania. As funds and partnerships are available the ABPP will continue to target opportunities to add battlefields to our data list.

For years the Battlefield Update tinue this level of service. However, Battlefield Update provides an excellent opportunity to provide technical information about battlefield preservation. In the future look for more "How to"¬ù and informational type articles. The ABPP will make greater use of the Web page providing information similar to the Update but with greater potential for in-depth information into a specific subject or event.

The ABPP will continue to sponsor Battlefield Preservation Conferences. There will be the Bi-annual National Conference as well as small regional training workshops. The next national conference will be in Nashville, Tenn., during 2004. The ABPP also is co-sponsoring the Second International Workshop on Earthworks and Battlefield Terrain Conservation in Richmond sometime in 2004. In September 2003 the ABPP co-sponsored a Midwest Battle-field Preservation Workshop in Springfield, Mo. Other battlefield preservation workshops are targeted for Brownsville, Texas, Santa Fe, N.M., and Boston in the near future.

The Battlefield Preservation Grant Program continues to be the core of the ABPP's assistance. Since the days of the CWSAC these small start-up seed grants have helped preserve many battlefields from Virginia and Maine to Hawaii and American Samoa. The ABPP will continue to offer these grants as long as there is money to give. However, the competition is fierce. Each year there are many worthwhile and deserving applicants that are not funded. It is strongly recommended that, prior to applying for a grant, the prospective applicants contact the ABPP staff and discuss preservation strategies and the grant application. ABPP staff will provide technical assistance to perspective grant applicants as they prepare their application.

For the past two years the ABPP has evolved through the added challenge of personnel changes. The program is smaller than it has been in previous years. There are now only four full time staff members. Paul Hawke is the Program Chief; Tanya Gossett, Historic Preservation Planner; Kristen Stevens, Archeologist; and Glenn Williams, Historian. Connie Langum, Historian, and Kathy Schlegal, Landscape Architect/ Planner, provide support in the Midwest and Northeast regions respectively.

Communication between the ABPP staff and its constituency is essential if the program is to continue to increase its assistance to battlefields of all wars. In order to facilitate this communication each staff member has been assigned a state that they are Point-of-Contact (POC) for.

The POC:Is responsible for knowing, or researching, battlefield resources in the state, as needed; identifies battlefields with possible preservation or technical assistance needs; maintains communication between ABPP and SHPO, local governments, federal agencies, special interest groups and private citizens having interests in the State's battlefields; fosters preservation initiatives for battlefields within the state; provides technical assistance to battlefield pres-ervation efforts within the state, including ABPP Grant Application.

Additionally, if ABPP grant the POC is awarded provides technical assistance and monitoring for the life of the grant; is responsible for monitoring battlefield resources in the state for a monitoring program (when operational); is responsible for their state information in the Comprehensive American Battlefield Information Network (Cabin) Database (when operational); answers ABPP correspondence concerning resources in their state.

ABPP POCs will work with battlefield preservationists to identify the appropriate strategy for the resource. Sometimes the most appropriate action is to apply for a battlefield preservation grant. Sometimes another approach is best. The POC will be available to assist in this decision.

Path To Preservation

The ABPP is now moving forward with an overall strategy that has been coined "The Path to Preservation."¬ù After gathering information on literally hundreds of battlefields it has become evident that a logical progression is necessary in order to preserve these landscapes. The ABPP considers the following commonsense progression as the foundation blocks to a successful preservation opportunity.

1. Historical research, survey, and inventory. This is the all-important first step. It is essential to know what the resource is, why it is significant, and where it is. Countless important resources have been lost because good historical research and survey were not completed.

2. Nomination to the National Register/National Historic Landmark. The standard method of registration of an historic property. This provides a basic identifier for a governmental agency involved in any planning or compliance activities.

3. Community Advocacy and Outreach. Knowledge is power. The more knowledgeable the community and its governing bodies are the more likely they are to make decisions friendly to the preservation of the resource. It is also important to make potential partners aware of the significance to gain their involvement and support.

4. Preparation of a Historic Preservation or Cultural Resource Management Plan. This step is essential for developing partnerships and vision with short and long term goals and strategies.

5. Preparation of an Interpretive Plan and/or Programs. The more people know about the history and significance of a battlefield the more likely they are to want to preserve it.

The ABPP staff uses this basic outline while providing technical assistance and in scoring grant applications. Depending on individual circumstances the order may vary. Sometimes community advocacy is needed, or an interpretive program is needed in order to garner support before another strategy is utilized. As grant applications are scored the largest point total is based on the relationship between the threat and the preservation opportunity. Each reviewer will look at what the current threat is and using this basic outline will determine if the proposed project makes sense for the situation.

Battlefield preservationist's dreams do come true. All of the hard work of researching, identifying, surveying, advocacy, networking, planning, and interpreting does pay off. In 1998 and 2002 Congress appropriated a total of $19 million for Civil War Battlefield acquisition. This money comes through the stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for non-federal land acquisition by local and state governments or their partners. This money was pro-vided after much hard work by our friends and partners the Civil War Preservation Trust.

The ABPP manages the money and is in charge of granting it to the local groups. But, nobody could use it as effectively as they have if the CWSAC had not happened and over a decade of strong grassroots local efforts by many dedicated individuals in private non-profit groups or state and local governments. This is the legacy of their hard work. It is the pot of gold at the end of, "The Path to Preservation."¬ù

The ABPP Web Page is at http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/. For other information, contact:Paul Hawke, Chief of ABPP, (202) 354-2023, Paul-Hawk@nps.gov; Tanya Gossett, Historic Preservation Planner, (202) 354-2019, Tanya_Gossett@nps.gov; Kristen Stevens, Archeologist, (202) 354-2037, Kristen_Stevens@nps.gov; Glenn Williams, Historian & Grants Manager, (202) 354-2036, Glenn_Williams@nps.gov; Kathy Schlegel, Landscape Architect and Planner, (215) 597-6486, Kathy_Schlegel@nps.gov; Connie Langum, Historian, (417) 882-9144, Connie_Langum@nps.gov

Our email address is: mail@civilwarnews.com