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Raymond Battlefield Doubles in Size by Parker Hills
On
June 30, 2009, the issue was settled--the bucolic fields along Highway 18 south
of Raymond would remain that way, even though the fight to save them lasted
1,065 days, as opposed to the single day of combat on those hallowed grounds in
May of 1863. Friends of Raymond, a
local non-profit volunteer historical preservation group, working with the Civil
War Preservation Trust, a national organization dedicated to saving America’s
Civil War battlefields, purchased 66.62 acres of core battlefield property,
thus, ending a three year process of negotiations and fund-raising.
As a result, the preserved area of the Raymond battlefield has grown from
65 acres to almost 150, because the purchase of the property brings with it a
preservation easement for additional acreage on the battlefield.
Situations can change in a heartbeat, but when a change occurs, a good, solid organization has to possess situational awareness and flexibility. Case in point: on July 30, 2006, then-president Parker Hills of Friends of Raymond (FOR) chaired a Strategic Planning Committee meeting at the historic Dupree house near Raymond. “The goal is to develop a long-range plan for the Raymond battlefield,” explained Hills, “so that FOR maintains its historic preservation vision.” The committee discussed the battlefield and the real estate, and, though 65 acres had already been preserved through four separate land transactions, the members knew that more battlefield property had to be acquired if FOR were to fulfill its mission. It was then decided that the first priority for acquisition was a strip of land known as Artillery Ridge on the property of The Gaddis Farms, a more than 100-year-old family farming operation. It was on this slight elevation that the 22 cannons of Union General James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps were amassed to oppose Confederate General John Gregg’s paltry three cannon on a hillside 7/10 of a mile to the north.
The Gaddis Farms, which has been awarded environmental stewardship awards for its care of the land, the animals, and the water, was contacted about the Artillery Ridge property. While discussions were ongoing, on the first day of December events took a dramatic turn. A “For Sale” sign popped up on the east side of Hwy 18 on 66.62 acres of core battlefield property that was under different ownership. On this very ground occurred the hottest of the fighting on that hot, dusty twelfth day of May, 1863. In these fields soldiers fought, bled, and died, and in these fields scores of the dead were quickly covered with Mississippi soil. Presumably all of the Federal soldiers were disinterred and taken to the Vicksburg National Cemetery soon after the war ended, and, it has also been assumed that all of the Confederates were later exhumed from their anonymous battlefield graves by the citizens of Raymond and taken to the Raymond City Cemetery. But who can say how many buried soldiers went undiscovered and still lie in those fields? And now, 143 years later, this very ground was in danger of being covered with the concrete slabs and asphalt streets of a housing subdivision. FOR knew it had to re-prioritize its real estate acquisition goals, and the new top priority for land acquisition would have to be these acres of hallowed ground.
The
real estate agent was contacted on Pearl Harbor Day of 2006, and a meeting was
soon held with the property owner. The
initial asking price left FOR in a state of “sticker shock,” and it was
immediately evident that a partnership with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT)
must be established if this land were to be preserved.
After all, the CWPT had listed the Raymond battlefield on its “Top Ten
Most Endangered List” in 2005 and again in 2006.
To that end, in mid-December of 2006, Hills and Mayor Isla Tullos of
Raymond co-authored a letter inviting the Civil War Preservation Trust to bring
its members to the historic Mississippi town during their national conference,
which was to be held in Vicksburg in September, 2007.
Mayor Tullos ended her letter in typical Southern phraseology, “Y’all
come.” In early 2007 Jim
Lighthizer of the CWPT accepted the invitation, and Raymond prepared to roll out
the red carpet that fall.
Meanwhile,
property appraisals were solicited and negotiations for the property began.
The final price was established at $435,000, which was the price
suggested in a federal appraisal. Mrs.
June Miles, the property owner, was very much in favor of preserving the ground
for the battlefield, and had expressed hope that FOR could raise the necessary
money. Still, the accruement of
that large a sum in a town of 2,000 inhabitants was a far cry from reality.
Then,
the CWPT Conference came to town. On
a clear Saturday in September, four busloads of CWPT members tramped the
battlefield under the tutelage of Terry Winschel (historian, Vicksburg National
Military Park), Parker Hills (president, Friends of Raymond), Tim Smith (author
of 2004’s Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for
Vicksburg), and Matt Atkinson (park ranger, Vicksburg).
Among the CWPT members was author Jeff Shaara, a CWPT Board member and
the son of the late Mike Shaara. The
senior Shaara’s 1974 book Killer Angels has
been required reading in U.S. Army officers’ courses since the 1970s,
providing examples of small unit leadership and tactics, and Raymond is a
perfect place to study these examples. Like
his father, Jeff became an author and penned Gods
and Generals. He graciously
donated a portion of his royalties from another of his book, Jeff
Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields, to FOR.
The
visit to Raymond provided the needed impetus.
It was agreed that FOR and the CWPT would work in a partnership toward
the purchase price, and in a few months a contract was signed with the Miles
family for purchase of the property, with a closing date of no later than
December 20, 2008. FOR would
contribute $115,000, CWPT would contribute $102,500, and the American
Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) would contribute $217,500.
But, the traveled road is rarely a smooth one, and that date could not be
met. The CWPT depends not only on private donations, but on federal grant money, and with a new national administration settling in after the 2008 elections, the grant money from the ABPP, a component of the National Park Service, was uncertain. An extension of the contract was needed, and the Miles family graciously agreed. In the spring of 2009 the grant money was appropriated by Congress, but the wheels of government grind slowly, and the money did not seem to be filtering down to the CWPT fast enough. It looked as if the contract might again expire, but, at the eleventh hour, on June 30, 2009, the land was purchased, and Dick Kilby, president of FOR, oversaw the transfer of funds. “This is a significant day for battlefield preservation, and in the process Friends of Raymond has also assumed added responsibilities for land stewardship,” Kilby told the board. “We must be up to the task.” FOR board member Cliff Hale remarked, “This was our goal, to preserve this battlefield property, and we have done it.” Randall Harris, also on the board, noted, “Friends of Raymond and the Civil War Preservation Trust have stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.” Tom Gilmore of the CWPT looked forward to members of FOR and the CWPT celebrating together.
The
story has another interesting twist. During
the negotiations for the Miles property, FOR held several meetings with The
Gaddis Farms, in which FOR continued to express an interest in Artillery Ridge.
Always friendly to historic preservation, Gaddis was receptive to an
offer from FOR in which the farm would plant the newly acquired Miles acreage in
order to keep the property under cultivation as it was in 1863.
In turn, Gaddis would grant to FOR a preservation easement for Artillery
Ridge. Then Gaddis offered to
donate an additional easement to allow the FOR Walking and Interpretive Trail to
be continued southward to Artillery Ridge.
Ted Kendall, president of The Gaddis Farms, noted, “The Raymond Walking
and Interpretive Trail has proven to be a real asset to the community, and it is
only right that it be extended to include Artillery Ridge.”
Plans
will be needed for a trail on the 66.62 acres and for additional signage to
interpret the actions there. It was
on this land that General John “Black Jack” Logan with “the shriek of an
eagle” rallied his Ohioans during the initial attack by Colonel Hiram
Granbury’s Texans. It was on this
land that Colonel Calvin Walker’s Tennesseans charged across Fourteenmile
Creek only to be decimated by flanking fire from Colonel Ed McCook’s boys from
Illinois. It was on this ground
that Northern Irishmen from St. Louis fought Southern Irishmen from Tennessee.
To
help interpret the action, cast-iron replica cannon carriages, which were
declared surplus and donated to FOR by Vicksburg National Military Park, have
been carefully restored and barrels of the correct caliber have been made.
Eight of these Union guns will soon to take position on Artillery Ridge
to complement the three Michigan cannon on the walking trail, facing-off against
the three Confederate guns over ½ mile to the north.
FOR has enough cannon carriages to complete the job of placing 25 cannon
(three Confederate and 22 Federal) on the battlefield, and funds will be raised
to complete the remaining eleven cannon (each cannon carriage costs $2,500 to
restore and crown with a barrel). The
current walking trail will need to be extended to Artillery Ridge, and more
interpretative signage will be required for the artillery positions.
Additionally, state monuments from Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky,
Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan are desired to complement the solitary Texas
monument placed on the battlefield in 2002.
Clearly,
FOR has plenty of work for the future, and perhaps Terry Winschel of Vicksburg
National Military Park, when he learned of the sale, said it best: “That is
glorious news--now, on to the next acquisition.” If you wish to help Friends of Raymond
purchase this property, help
us
by
clicking
on
either: For more information, visit the CWPT website at: http://www.civilwar.org/raymond
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