We continue to hear that this is going to be the largest reenactment since the actual battle itself. Make plans now to be part of this wonderful event. Check out the Web site for details. If you do not have internet access, you may call the Mansfield State Historic Site at (318) 872-1474. The phone there has been busy lately! The encampment of reenactors will be at both Mansfield and Pleasant Hill (several hundred at Mansfield on Friday night). The reenactors camping at Pleasant Hill will be bused to Mansfield on the 3rd for the reenactment there. Pleasant Hill is a tiny community located just 20 miles south of Mansfield. Please see the Web site for updated events. We will update as information becomes available throughout the month

Medallions commemorating the 140th anniversary have been ordered and are expected to arrive in late March. Here is the artwork submitted. The sequential numbering will be placed on the reverse side. The medallions will be burnished bronze and 1 15/16 in diameter. Each will come in a black cloth envelope pouch imprinted with the worlds “Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield.” We’ll also include an authenticity card. This is a limited edition of 1,000. When they are gone, they are gone forever.

We believe this will be a keepsake that will have meaning for many people who had ancestors in the campaign, who care about preservation or who simply believe that American history is important. We really have no idea if we can sell this many medallions or if this is even the right price point for this fundraiser. Actually, one of our members has said they are priced too low, but we want to make them available for our members to have for themselves and their families. We have almost 300 members, so we’re hoping they will move!

We are reserving the first 500 medallions for our members. Members may submit advance orders throughout the month of March. The coins will be for sale during the first weekend in April at the Mansfield State Historic site during festivities.

The minting of these medallions serves as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield. Our vendor, Worrell Bros. in Shreveport, has done the artwork for free and has given us an excellent price. If you live in the Mansfield/Shreveport area and know Leanne Worrell Churchman, please thank her for helping this to be a great project. We are pleased to let you know that we will be able to retain almost $16 on the sale of each medal for our preservation and education efforts. As soon as the medals arrive (anticipated by March 30), we will begin packaging and mailing them. Keep in mind that all of this is being handled by volunteer help on the weekends and after work, so be patient if your medal does not arrive during the first week of April. We have to participate in the anniversary celebration and that will take our entire weekend.

ENDANGERED LIST – THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Mansfield has once again made the list of the Top 10 Most Endangered Battlefields of the Civil War Preservation Trust. This is bad in that the battlefield is still on the list. On the other hand, it is good in that it has generated considerable national and local attention for the battlefield. In fact, when the list was released, the traffic on our Web site quadrupled in a single day. That means more people are learning about the importance of this historic battlefield and the need to preserve it. Local media have visited the battlefield and talked to the staff (all wonderful folks who are passionate about history), and they are helping to remind the locals that there is something important right in their own backyard. (Isn’t it ironic that something you’re familiar with never really seems that special?) We appreciate all the help we can get, and the Civil War Preservation Trust had been committed to this project long before the Friends group was founded.

We, the Friends, want to work with all groups who share an interest in preservation. When it comes to saving historic battlefields like this, you can’t have enough friends!

A STATE PARK WEB LINK
Louisiana’s Office of State Parks now has a link to the Friends Web site on their site http://www.lastateparks.com/. We owe thanks to Bo Boehringer at the Office of State Parks for making that happen. His office is part of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism under the direction of Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu.

MAKING MORE FRIENDS
One of our newest member organizations is the Civil War Round Table of Orange County, California. We’re now receiving memberships from around the nation – proving that there are many from outside our area who realize that this is an important part of the story of America.

One new member, James F. Carroll, of Dothan, Alabama, noted that his great-grandfather, John Franklin Carroll, 28th Louisiana Infantry, fought in the Battle of Mansfield.

Another sent us a photograph of his ancestor, Isaac Bodine Ellison who joined Company A Burns Cavalry Battalion which became Company E (Likens) 35th Texas Cavalry Regiment and served until the surrender. Thanks to William J. Bozic, Jr. of Houston for this information. We are seeking information about other Red River Campaign participants to be used in educational activities. You can find a form to submit your information on our Web site. You can find it on the Web site by clicking on the button “About the Battle” and scrolling all the way to the end.

HONOR ROLL

****HONOR ROLL****

Special thanks to the following members who have joined at the Legacy Level and to our Business/Organization
members.

13th Texas Infantry Camp #1565, SCV, Angleton, TX
Evelyne C.T. Abney, Shreveport LA
Barton Allen, D.D.S., Dallas, TX
William & Becky Almond, Coushatta, LA
Roger K. & Bonnie Anderson, Shreveport, LA
Austin Civil War Round Table, Austin, TX
Berlin Airlift Veterans Association
Michael A. Bergeron, Lake Charles, LA
B. Gen. J.J. Alfred Mouton Camp 778 SCV, Opelousas, LA
James Bobbitt, Shreveport
Robert L. Bradley, Houston, TX
Angel Brandt, Dallas, TX
Capt. James P. Douglas Camp 124 SCV, Tyler, TX
Arthur R. Carmody Jr., Shreveport, LA
Pete W. Cawthon Jr., Hunt, TX
Civil War Round Table of Orange County, CA
Richard L. Colquette, Shreveport, LA
Edward Cotham, Houston, TX
Greggory Davies, Winnfield LA
A.W. Davis, Bryan, TX
Reinhard Dearing, Slidell, TX
Markham A. Dickson Jr., Shreveport, LA
Semmes Favrot, New Orleans, LA
Flexographic Engraving Co., Inc., Tyler, TX
Francis Chandler Furman, Rolla, MO
Gen. Polk Chapter UDC, DeRidder, LA
Lee W. Gibbs, Chagrin Falls, OH
Jas. S. Gilliland, Memphis, TN
J. Forrest Green, Corsicana, TX
Nolan L. Green, Jacksonville, TX
David L. Gruber, D.D.S., Irving, TX
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory J. Hamer, Morgan City, LA
William Hayden, M.D., Paris, TX
Jonathan Henderson, Shreveport, LA
Andrew Higgins, Ruston, LA
History Club of East Texas, Longview, TX
Houston Civil War Aficionados, Houston TX
John B. Hood Camp #40 SCV, Galveston, TX
Johnson-Sayers-Nettles SCV Camp 1012, Wortham, TX
Marilyn & Gary Joiner, Shreveport, LA
Paul Jones, Opelousas, LA
Denny Kalk, Navasota, TX
John M. Keahey, Missouri City, TX
Kyle A. Korcha, Leesville, LA
David J. Krebs, New Orleans, LA
Frank Larkin, New Orleans, LA
Louisiana Division, SCV
James Marvin Lowrey, Sulphur, LA
Maj. Thomas McGuire Camp 1714 SCV, West Monroe, LA
George McCormick, Shreveport, LA
Fred McGilberry, Navasota, TX
Roderick Miller, Lafayette, LA
Montgomery County Artifact Recovery Club, Houston, TX
Moonlight & Lace B&B, Mansfield, LA
Greg Neal, Delhi, LA
North Louisiana Civil War Round Table, Shreveport, LA
Paul Oberle, Benton, LA
Greg O’Neal, Delhi, LA
Dorothy Perkins, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Angelo J. Piazza III, Marksville, LA
Robert C. Poimboeuf, Shreveport, LA
Questers-Bayou Chapter, Shreveport LA
Patrick Reardon, London, England
Robert J. & Norma Richardson, Hillsboro, TX
Donald Rigali, Spring, TX
Paul Rigali, Conroe, TX
Philip R. Ritchie, Carrollton, TX
Garland E. Robbins, Tomball, TX
Glen L. Roosevelt, Anaheim Hills, CA
Samuel D. Russell Camp 1617 SCV, Natchitoches, LA
Shreveport Chapter UDC, Shreveport LA
J.G. Smith, Stonewall, LA
Robert S. Stark, Brenham, TX
Charles H. Stewart, M.D., Lafayette, LA
Anita Tinsley, Jack Tinsley II, Jason & Sonia Tinsley, Taylor Tinsley, Lake Charles, LA
Norman Wayman, Longview, TX
Mr. and Mrs. L.J. Whitmeyer Jr., Colmesnell, TX
Darryl P. Yank, Syracuse NY

HELP US SAVE MONEY: If you are receiving this by snail mail, it’s taking us time and money to send it. If you have e-mail, we would prefer to send your newsletter that way. You’ll get it faster, too. If we do NOT have your e-mail address, we ask that you forward it to us at info@mansfieldbattlefield.org.

History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are. ~ David C. McCullough

Make your reservations now for the Mansfield 140th anniversary celebration. Check with our good friends at Moonlight & Lace B&B in Mansfield for accommodations then or at other times in the year. If you cannot stay in Mansfield, check out accommodations in Shreveport. It’s roughly a 35-minute drive to the Mansfield State Historic Site—less than some commutes in big cities!

Click here for the Medallion Order Form