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Battlefields get some tender loving care
Volunteers help clean up battlefields across the state, including Wilderness and Brandy Station
Date published: 4/5/2009
By DAN TELVOCK By tomorrow, visitors to the Wilderness battlefield off State Route 20 should get a clearer view of what Confederate soldiers saw on May 5, 1864, as Union forces rushed them from a dip in the hillside. Bob Johnson, one of four men sawing brush and hauling dead trees to clear the viewshed, said yesterday that their work will help bring alive the Civil War experience at the National Park Service's battlefield in Orange and Spotsylvania counties. "The goal is to cut out all this underbrush so you can see what they saw," Johnson said, standing near trenches in west of the exhibit shelter on Route 20 in Orange. "They were shooting point blank at each other." Johnson said tour guides often stop at these Confederate earthworks to show visitors the site of a skirmish between Union forces and Confederate Gen. Richard S. Ewell's men. He said the fight was so intense that the field caught fire and some soldiers burned to death. The Battle of the Wilderness was the first clash between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The fighting took place May 5 and May 6, 1864. But yesterday dead trees and brush obstructed the view, including the dip in the hillside that provided cover to Union forces. Johnson was one of almost 50 people who gathered in the battlefield park as part of "Park Day," a nationwide cleanup and restoration event sponsored by the Civil War Preservation Trust and supported by local groups such as the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield. Locally, a similar event was held at the Brandy Station battlefield in Culpeper County. In Orange, volunteers helped pick up trash and brush that lined the roads in and around the 2,700-acre park, the largest part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. One man came all the way from Inverness, Ill., to volunteer--something Craig Rains, a member of the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, said is not uncommon. He said a woman from California comes to the battlefield annually because her ancestors fought there. "She'll talk about the battle and start crying," he said.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 4/5/2009
Where o where is wideopenspaces?
(posted by
bjLOW
, Apr. 7, 2009 4:10 pm)
I wonder what old, misinformed wideopenspace did on Saturday? I bet he wasn't working to make the park a better place.
Inconvenient truth
(posted by
bjLOW
, Apr. 7, 2009 4:03 pm)
It is not fair to fight a war of wits with an unarmed person. “It [Saunders field} was noteworthy as one of the few extensive clearings in the Wilderness.” "Hayes's soldiers got a clear view of the rebels. A substantial enemy force was visible on the clearing far side. Their shovels could be seen flying as they gouged out a rough line of earthworks." page 102 Gordon C. Rhea "The Battle of the Wilderness."It is not fair to fight a war of wits with an unarmed person. “It [Saunders field} was noteworthy as one
Mr. Johnson is Historically Correct
(posted by
LowLaker
, Apr. 6, 2009 7:59 am)
The underbrush being cleared on the west end of Saunders Field will, return the viewshed to how it was. Official records and letters from soldiers note that the Confederates cleared this area in front of their earthworks here to improve their field of vision. The poster, wideopenspace, is correct that underbrush caught fire, however the fires were not on this specific part of the field. The National Park Service researched this carefully before moving forward to restore the original view.
Trash Clarification
(posted by
LowLaker
, Apr. 6, 2009 7:44 am)
The roadside litter pick up at Wilderness Battlefield covered not only Route 20, but also 613, 621 and Hill-Ewell Drive. The worst area was around the Brock Road intersection where Spotsy county officials will tell you it comes from unsecured trash blowing out of trucks. Keep America Beautiful rates the top primary source of litter as: Trucks with uncovered or unsecured loads on local roads and highways.
Wide open
(posted by
LastManStanding
, Apr. 5, 2009 9:16 pm)
you really don't know what you are talking about do you. Maybe it's you that's the fool? It's not Mr. Rains' job to clarify the story that was written by a reporter.
On top of that you are incorrect re: the underbrush. They were restoring the site line for the original trench line -which didn't contain brush or trees during the battle. A novice student of warfare would understand that. It's another fact you obvioulsly are unaware of. Check it out before you call other people fools.
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