"The Preservation “Miracle” at Stones River" Topic

"It's been a big week for the American Battlefield Trust. A few days ago, we told you about a major initiative they're launching to preserve the core of the Gaines's Mill and Cold Harbor battlefields. They also announced this week a huge preservation win at Stones River.

We'll be featuring a bunch of Stones River content on the ECW YouTube page over the next couple of weeks, but we're going to start with a discussion about this preservation news and an overview of the battle by talking with ECW's Stones River experts. Our Chief Historian, Chris Kolakowski, is the author of The Stones River and the Tullahoma Campaigns: This Army Does Not Retreat (History Press, 2011), and Caroline Davis and Bert Dunkerly are finishing a book on Stones River for the Emerging Civil War Series. Later in the week, look for some videos from me when I explored the battlefield earlier this fall…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Very good news!

Murfreesboro is one of the fastest growing cities in the US.
The forces of modernism and the administrative class have no use for history or preservation. They must be opposed and this historic site must be preserved!

Joe Collins

+1 Joe. I visited this battlefield a long time ago, and was struck by how hemmed it was by light industrial on all sides.

I'm glad I was there 35 years ago before "civilization" expanded. The ABT is a great organization that I am proud to be part of.

Another ABT member here. Stones River was a small battlefield when I was there in 1996, and needs more land added to it. I don't want it to become like the Nashville battlefield, where we need to bulldoze a third of the city to restore it to its December 1864 condition.

Grelber
Who once learned how to drive a bulldozer

Courtesy of the Emerging Civil War website

Glad you enjoyed it boys! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Although land has been added to the park during the last 30 years, almost 90% of the surrounding land has been developed. When I arrived in Tennessee back in 1988, much of the cedar forest remained and away from the major highways little had changed except the roads had been paved. Part of this was due to the city owning some of the land and the topography of a layer of shelf rock not far below the soil surface was a hinderance to running things like water and sewer lines. This has all changed with massive development of those areas and the building of an elevated road (Thompson Lane), to get over the railroad tracks, that now blocks the view from the visitor center towards the CSA trenches. The park service also reimagined the entrance to the visitors center building a monstrosity of a gated entrance off of Thompson Lane, made half of the driving loop inaccessible to vehicles (its a walking/biking trail now), and (at the time) the small museum at the visitors center was dedicated to the role of slaves during the Civil War. McCooks HQ location is now a huge Medical center. It is sad to see what has occurred from what I had first seen even to as late as 2002.

Is that the same as the Civil War Battlefield Trust?