Historic Sites Vulnerable to Developers
College Protects, Investigates Johnson's Island Civil War Site
Sep 28, 2009
Johnson’s Island, a prison for Confederate officers, located in Lake Erie near the current site of Cedar Point amusement park, is an ongoing archaeological dig for Heidelberg College in Tiffin, OH under the guidance of Dr. David Bush.
Dr. Bush’s need for funding is urgent, even with the assistance of Friends and Descendents of Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison, which purchased a portion of the island to preserve the site from developers and individual beach homes or from being turned into an orchard.
Many other historic sites in the United States are threatened. The Civil War Preservation Trust became the one organization battling to save the nation’s Civil War historic sites.
Apparently 'old' is not revered in the United States. Old buildings get demolished to make way for newer, shinier, more modern edifices. Frank Lloyd Wright's work gets some concern for preservation, but even that is waning. So when it comes to grassy battlefields standing empty -- some developer sees visions of strip malls and parking lots. It isn't like in Scotland where castles are allowed to stand for centuries, piles of stones have meaning beyond that of a pile of stones, and the battle fields -- Culloden comes to mind -- are revered. The anger and emotion of that battle that was fought in the 1740s still smolders. Maybe that is more like the Confederate or Southern remembrance of the War Between the States....
But, still the battlefields are disappearing. There are some that have been lost. But there is hope. The Civil War Preservation Trust writes:
Although many battlefields are in danger of being lost forever, CWPT is making significant progress. In 2007 CWPT rescued more than 1,600 acres of hallowed ground at legendary battlefields like Champion Hill, Miss., Shiloh, Tenn., and Petersburg, Va. Since our creation two decades ago, CWPT has protected more than 25,000 acres at 99 sites in 18 states. Despite such successes, our work is far from done.
Yet, for anyone who has studied the American Civil War at all, you've heard of Antietam in Maryland. This significant battlefield is number one on their 'needs saving' list. The CWPT describes Antietam:
September 17, 1862
The bloodiest single day in American history, the Battle of Antietam ended the Confederacy’s first attempt to invade the North in a resounding fashion. Though the battle itself was tactically inconclusive in its outcome, the 23,000 casualties left behind by the fighting shocked the nation. Moreover, Antietam’s proximity to major northern population centers and their emerging photography industries allowed Americans to see for the first time the true horror of war through the aftermath of battle.
History connects us all and 1861 isn’t that far past. For example my grandmother was born during Reconstruction. My mother grew up listening to Civil War veterans tell their stories. She saw the old soldiers make a life with missing arms, legs, hands, fingers, eyes…. There is a Civil War memorial in the center of my home town and a portion of the local cemetery devoted to Civil War soldiers.
If nothing else, the realization that we are connected to the past gives hope that we also will connect to the future. And what is most important: In order to remember an effort must be made to preserve historic sites, papers, ephemera, diaries, letters – and make sure those from our era are also preserved.
