Eighth Annual
Preserving Virginia's Civil War Heritage Workshop
November 11-12, 2000
The
Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields (FoFAB) is
pleased to have the opportunity to host the eighth
annual Preserving Virginia’s Civil War Heritage
Workshop in conjunction with the Rappahannock
Valley Civil War Round Table (RVCWRT) on Veterans’ Day
weekend. RVCWRT hosted the first seven workshops which
have proved to be very successful in providing
information on local battlefield preservation efforts
while helping to raise funds to save some of the most
threatened battlefield sites in our region. When the
RVCWRT executive committee considered taking a
well-deserved break from the workshop this year, the
FoFAB board volunteered to step in to help continue the
annual workshop.
The
format of this year’s workshop will be similar to the
format used when the workshops first began. The Saturday
agenda will consist of four lectures followed by a
banquet with a guest speaker. The two morning sessions
will concentrate on the "how-to’s" of
battlefield acquisition. The two afternoon sessions will
discuss the nuts-and-bolts of battlefield
interpretation. With this dual emphasis, battlefield
groups at all levels can benefit from this workshop. On
Sunday, workshop participants will have the opportunity
to take a bus tour following the actions of South
Carolina troops in the battles of Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, and Spotsylvania Court House;
affording participants the rare opportunity to get an
overview of three major battlefields in one tour.
All
proceeds from the Preserving Virginia’s Civil
War Heritage Workshop will be donated to the
Central Virginia Battlefields Trust to assist in their
efforts to acquire Myers Hill on the Spotsylvania Court
House battlefield. For more details about the
conference, please see the registration form inside this
newsletter.
Battlefield Interpretation at Cedar Mountain
Friends of
Fredericksburg Area Battlefields (FoFAB) is pleased to
welcome Janelle Kennedy as a new intern. Janelle is an
American Studies major at Mary Washington College. She
has also served as a seasonal Civil War
Historian/Interpreter at the Fredericksburg and
Spotsylvania National Military Park and worked for
Eastern National (the park bookstores).
Janelle will be
responsible for developing a battlefield interpretation
plan for the portion of the Cedar Mountain battlefield
owned by the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). The
interpretation plan will include the following three
items (1) a site map detailing the location of parking,
trails, signs, or any other features at the battlefield,
(2) text and graphics for interpretive signs or any
other markers for the site, and (3) a revised site
bulletin ready for printing.
This internship
is made possible by a partnership between FoFAB, CWPT,
Partners in Parks, and the American Battlefield
Protection Program (ABPP). Janelle’s stipend will be
paid by Partners in Parks through a grant from ABPP. The
Cedar Mountain battlefield interpretation plan is the
fifth FoFAB project funded by Partners in Parks and ABPP.
Past projects included historic research on the battles
of Aquia Landing, Mine Run, and Trevilian Station.
Statements of significance for the battles of Aquia
Landing, Mine Run, and Trevilian Station; and two
community outreach and capacity building internships
designed to help FoFAB increase its ability to promote
battlefield preservation efforts in the local community.
Once the
interpretation plan is completed and approved by CWPT,
FoFAB hopes to continue its partnership with CWPT by
raising funds to implement the plan at the battlefield.
If you would like to assist us in our efforts at Cedar
Mountain, or if you would like more information on other
internship or volunteer opportunities with FoFAB, please
feel free to contact us via the mailing address, e-mail
address, fax, or phone number listed on the front of
this newsletter. We welcome your involvement in
maintaining and interpreting this significant Civil War
site.
Junior Ranger Programs Offered at
National Park
In July, the
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
began offering two Junior Ranger programs designed for
young people ages 9 through 12. The purpose of the
programs is to help the next generation understand the
importance of the events which took place in the
Fredericksburg area during the Civil War. The Park
Service reports that the programs have already been
highly successful.
The first Junior
Ranger booklet is "Fredericksburg Battlefield and
Chatham". The second booklet covers "Chancellorsville
and Jackson Shrine". Both booklets were compiled by
volunteer hours provided through Friends of
Fredericksburg Area Battlefields. Lee Ann Williams,
FoFAB Education Coordinator, supervised this project.
Janice Frye, a Civil War Historian and Education
Coordinator for the park, and Elsa Lohman, a Civil War
Historian at the park, assisted in the development of
these booklets. The Branch - Lane’s Brigade Memorial
Fund provided startup funding for the project, and
Eastern National provided funding for the publishing.
Both booklets are available for $3 each at Eastern
National bookstore outlets in the Fredericksburg and
Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Participants can
earn a Junior Ranger badge for Fredericksburg and/or
Chancellorsville by completing the activities listed in
the Junior Ranger booklets. Activities include visiting
the battlefields and museums, attending guided walking
tours, hiking interpreted trails, and completing
questions and games in the booklets.
Fredericksburg
National Cemetary Luminaria
On Friday, May 27 seventh grade
students from Fredericksburg Christian School placed an
American flag in front of each grave in the
Fredericksburg National Cemetery. On Saturday, May 28,
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts spent the day placing small
white paper bags in the cemetery on either side of every
grave. Each bag contained a zip-lock bag filled with
sand (to weigh the bag down) and one candle. Before the
cemetery gates opened at 8:00 p.m., Scouts scurried
around the cemetery lighting the candles. Others took
their place at one of the six stops on the cemetery tour
designed to provide information about the cemetery and
those who are buried there.
As soon as the gates were
opened, hundreds of visitors streamed through to get
their first glimpse of the beautiful tribute. Once they
reached the top of the hill at Marye’s Heights, the
sight of approximately 16,000 candles was awe-inspiring.
Even with hundreds of people on the hill, a quiet hush
came over the entire cemetery once each half-hour as the
sound of Taps filled the air.
Visitors who took the time to
walk the cemetery tour and listen to the interpreters
received much more than the visual beauty of this
tribute. Interpreters gave not only statistics about
when the cemetery was opened (1866), or how many people
are buried there (15,333), but gave real life stories of
the brave men to whom this spot is a final
resting-place. Those who took the tour and listened to
the stories quickly came to realize that these candles
represented far more than just the beauty of the
evening. Each candle represented a real person, who
willingly sacrificed his life so that we might live
free. Each candle represented a son, a husband, a
father, who would never return home. Each candle
represented the sacrifice of a family who had lost a
loved one. With these thoughts in mind, many visitors
had to choke back tears as they looked on this visual
reminder of the sacrifice others have made for us and
the generations to follow.
The final tour stop was near the
grave of Jerome Pierce of Massachusetts. He was killed
on May 12, 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court
House leaving behind a 29-year-old widow and a daughter
3 or 4 years old. Mrs. Pierce sent a $100 check to
Andrew Birdsall, the cemetery attendant, and asked that
he use the money to place flowers on the grave
regularly. To this day, his family still places flowers
on his grave each Memorial Day. But even more fitting
than the flowers, is the phrase on the card which
accompanies the flowers. It reads, "Once lost, now
found, never forgotten."
The purpose of the Luminaria is
to ensure that we might never forget the
sacrifices that others have made for our freedoms. This
program has quickly grown to become one of the most
attended Memorial Day weekend programs in the region.
The first Luminaria was held in 1997. Fifteen hundred
people attended. In 1998 nearly 3,000 people attended.
Last year 6,766 people paid tribute to our veterans by
attending the Luminaria, making this the most attended
event in the 73-year history of the Fredericksburg and
Spotsylvania National Military Park. Despite steady
rains throughout the weekend, over 4,500 visitors toured
the Fredericksburg National Cemetery during the Memorial
Day Weekend Luminaria this year.
The Luminaria is intended to
honor the sacrifices of veterans of all American wars.
We are thankful for the several hundred students and
scouts who worked so diligently to make this event
possible. It is our hope that by participating in this
tribute today, they will remember tomorrow the
sacrifices which others made for our freedoms, and that
they would in turn teach that message to the next
generation.
Friends of Fredericksburg Area
Battlefields is honored to have had the opportunity to
participate in the planning of the Luminaria and serve
as the fiscal agent for the Luminaria for the past three
years. This event is funded with donations from
individuals, organizations, and businesses. If you
would like to know how you can help sponsor the
Luminaria in 2001, please contact us at 13100
Wilderness Park Drive, Spotsylvania, VA 22553-8220,
phone (540) 972-9954, fax (540) 972-3521, e-mail:
robwilliams@erols.com. We would welcome your support.
Preserving Virginia's
Civil War Heritage Workshop
November 11-12, 2000
(Veterans' Day Weekend)
Howard Johnson’s,
5327 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spotsylvania, Virginia
(I-95 Exit # 126, Massaponax Exit)
Sponsored by Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields
(FoFAB)
in conjunction with the
Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table (RVCWRT)
Conference Chairman: Tom Quigley
Saturday, November 11, 2000
08:30 - 09:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
09:00 - 09:15 Welcome
09:15 - 10:30 Session I - Land Acquisition Strategy
Enos Richardson, Former President, Central Virginia
Battlefields Trust
10:30 - 10:45 Morning Break
10:45 - 12:00 Session II - Land Acquisition Funding
Paul Pritchard, President, National Park Trust
12:00 - 01:00 Lunch
01:00 - 02:15 Session III - Battlefield
Interpretation Planning
John Hennessy, Asst. Superintendent, Fredericksburg
& Spotsylvania NMP
02:15 - 02:30 Afternoon Break
02:30 - 03:45 Session IV - Museum Exhibit Planning
Ritchie Jacobs, Graphics Manager, Creative Dimensions
Group
03:45 - 04:00 Closing Remarks/Workshop Evaluation
06:00 - 08:00 Banquet with Civil War Historian and
Author, Donald Pfanz
Aunt Sarah’s Pancake House, 5426 Jefferson Davis
Hwy, Spotsylvania, VA
(Massaponax Outlet Mall, I-95 Exit # 126 -Massaponax
Exit)
Sunday, November 12, 2000
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Bus Tour, South
Carolinians in the Battles of Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, and Spotsylvania Court House, led
by Civil War historian and author Mac Wyckoff.
Saturday Seminars Only - $50
Saturday Evening Banquet - $20
Sunday Bus Tour - $50
Total Conference Package - $100
We have reserved rooms at the
Howard Johnson’s for those who wish to stay overnight.
To make a reservation, please call (540) 898-1800. Be
sure to mention you are attending the workshop to get
the discounted room rate.
Please note that all workshop
functions are limited to 40 participants (seminars,
banquet, and bus tour). Please get your reservations in
early to ensure you do not miss this opportunity.
Proceeds from the Preserving
Virginia’s Civil War Heritage Workshop
(including the Saturday training sessions, Saturday
evening banquet, Sunday bus tour, and Civil War book and
print raffles) will be donated to the Central
Virginia Battlefields Trust to assist them in their
efforts to purchase Myers Hill site on the Spotsylvania
Court House battlefield.
For more information, please
contact FoFAB at 13100 Wilderness Park Drive,
Spotsylvania, VA 22553-8220 Phone (540) 972-9954 Fax
(540) 972-3521 Email: robwilliams@erols.com
RESERVATION
FORM
Preserving Virginia's Civil War Heritage Workshop
November 11-12,
2000 (Veterans' Day Weekend)
Howard Johnson’s,
5327 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spotsylvania, Virginia
(I-95 Exit # 126, Massaponax Exit)
Sponsored by Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields
(FoFAB)
in conjunction with the
Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table (RVCWRT)
Conference Chairman: Tom Quigley
Yes! Please sign me up
for the Preserving Virginia’s Civil War Heritage
Workshop being held in Spotsylvania, November 11 and
12. Enclosed is my check for the following workshop
functions:
_____ Saturday Seminars Only - $50
_____ Saturday Evening Banquet - $20
_____ Sunday Bus Tour - $50
_____ Total Conference Package - $100 (Best Value!)
_____ I am sorry I cannot attend the workshop this
year, but enclosed is my donation to assist with your
efforts to help the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust
purchase Myers Hill.
(Donations are tax -deductible to the fullest extent
of the law.)
Reservations Deadline: Friday, November 3, 2000
Please mail reservation forms and checks to
FoFAB, 13100 Wilderness Park Drive, Spotsylvania, VA
22553-8220
Name
______________________________________________________
Address
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Phone______________________________________________________
"In the end, our
society will be defined not only by what we create but
by what we refuse to destroy."
- John Sawhill
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