ON THE PRESERVATION FRONT -- GROUPS TAKE ACTION

Kudos go to theLouisiana Environmental Action Network, Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, and Austin Civil War Round Table for taking a dramatic step in the efforts to preserve the Mansfield Battlefield which is being ravaged by lignite mining. In April they filed a petition to declare the battlefield unsuitable for strip mining. The Louisiana Office of Conservation has one year to decide whether the land is suitable for mining. A similar suit in the 1980s accomplished nothing; however, the national attention paid to the Mansfield Battlefield now may secure a different verdict. The petition, filed by third-year law students at Tulane, cites environmental concerns regarding the mining operations. However, for preservationists like the Austin Civil War Round Table, the issue is much larger. They care not only about the environment and the appearance of the battlefield but for the thousands who were laid to rest in mass graves on the battlefield. For DeSoto Parish and Mansfield, there is a larger concern of economics. They must realize that the limited economics of mining a non-renewable resource like lignite will destroy the viability of the long-term economic resource of historical tourism which can benefit the Mansfield area for generations to come.

Some have questioned why the Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield elected not to participate in the lawsuit, though we fully support all preservation efforts. Were we to participate in litigation, we would need to work closely with attorneys on all statements, correspondence, publications and oral presentation. We prefer to remain an independent voice for preservation and education. Our goal is to be available to work with ALL who seek to preserve the battlefield and who have an interest in the area. We are open to working with community, government and corporate entities who seek to maintain as much of the core battlefield as is possible. We do not believe we could do this were we to be involved in a lawsuit.

We want you as Friends to know that this decision in no way reflects that we are "soft" on preservation. In fact, we were fighting this battle and asking questions about this long before it drew national attention. The reality is that we are Louisiana natives (Marilyn is a Mansfield native). We live here, work here and have close ties here. We live in "the other Louisiana" (the northern part--the part that is not Cajun or Creole) and understand the politics and nuances of getting things done here.

Some of our Friends have questioned even mentioning the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic in our publication. This group may be controversial, particularly for those who are in the legal profession or who have some concerns about their work or previous causes. All we can say is that they are our friends on THIS cause, and this cause is OUR cause. We must express our appreciation for their efforts. We cannot say enough about the Austin Civil War Round Table. They, too, have drawn criticism as being "outsiders." (Actually, we think northwest Louisiana is a lot more like east Texas than it is like south Louisiana--but that's another essay!) The Austin Civil War Round Table is a powerful group of people, and you can have no better friend that someone who has both the power and money to make things happen. Many of the people who fought and died in the Red River Campaign were Texans. This campaign and the defeat of Banks at Mansfield helped to protect Texas from Union invasion. All of us who are Friends of the Mansfield Battlefield owe a debt of gratitude to the Austin Civil War Round Table, and particularly Dan Laney, for the time and effort they have devoted to this cause.

This lawsuit once again draws more attention to the Mansfield Battlefield and the fight for preservation. We can't get too much of a good thing!

FRIENDS FUND NEW MAP FOR VISITOR PRESENTATIONS

Following the big 140th anniversary celebration, the Mansfield State Historic Site requested a larger copy of the map Gary had created for educational use at the site. They have upgraded their public presentation from a slide show to a DVD created by the Louisiana State Parks and Louisiana Public Broadcasting. If you have visited the site recently, you probably enjoyed seeing this video. They now have a large glass wall for projection and had requested a 4 x 6 foot map so they could use it in low lighting to show movement and flow of the battle. Gary had created this map as part of his dissertation research with the help of interpretive ranger Scott Dearman at Mansfield. Gary created a digital file at no cost to the Friends and asked one of his vendors to create the map. Ridgway's in Shreveport, a company that usually does large output for architectural and engineering firms, agreed to do this map. The file was absolutely huge--500 MB. They received the file on a Thursday and delivered it early on a Saturday morning, in time for Gary to take it to Mansfield for a visit by a large group of Houston civil war enthusiasts. Not only did Ridgway's bend over backwards to deliver the map for the visit, they did so at an 80% discount, saving the Friends a considerable amount of money. If you have a chance to thank them, please do so. Ridgway's has offices throughout the country, so you may have a local office you can tell about this generosity as well. When we secure discounts like this, it means more money to spend on other preservation and education efforts.

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

The Houston Presbyterian Civil War Aficionados requested that Gary join them for a tour of the battlefield last month.  This group meets four times a year and takes an annual study field trip so they can thoroughly examine a campaign. This year picked the ed River Campaign and used Gary's book "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End" as their text.  Gary spent a morning at Mansfield with the group to help raise awareness of the battle, the battlefield and plight of the lignite mine.

On a the younger side of education, an elementary school student from Papillion, Nebraska, had Gary's help on a school project. His class had read the children's book "Flat Stanley." In the book, Stanley is flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. His flat status allows him to be mailed all over on adventures. Andrew Medvec -- as Flat Andrew -- toured the battlefield with Gary and the Houston group. Interpretive Ranger Don Smith had enjoyed the book as a child and he was offering a living history exhibit on that day. Dressed in butternut, he took Flat Andrew to his tent and showed him how a solider made his cup of coffee. Look on our Web site for Flat Andrew's visit. Pictures of Flat Andrew and his adventures were mailed back to Nebraska along with other pictures from the 140th anniversary reenactment.

CONTINUE TO LEARN MORE

How much can we continue to learn about something that took place 140 years ago? Is there really any new information on this old event? The answer is yes, there is still plenty to learn. Research on the Red River Campaign, the people who fought in it, and the people in the area who viewed it. The core of  the new research is a series of first-person narratives in the forms of letters, diaries, journals and a couple of accounts which received limited published distribution. These accounts consist of Confederate and Union soldiers, civilians (male and female), and even childhood reminiscences. We hope that these accounts with analysis of them and, when possible, a short biography of the writer will be published next year. Work is still continuing by Gary, Vicki Betts, librarian at the University of Texas-Tyler; Randle Gilbert, an attorney in Tyler; Dr. Cheryl White, instructor at LSU in Shreveport and Jimmy Sandefur, a civil war documents collector of Madison Miss. This ongoing research has provided thus far an enormous amount of untapped material, particularly concerning the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill as well as other actions. We will keep you up to date on this as it progresses.

COMMENT FROM OUR MEMBERS

"This past Monday I saw for myself what's going on at Mansfield and it disturbs me and my wife. Areas close to the battlefield look ravaged, war torn, etc.! Sign me up. I want to do more. P.S. What's the story on the old abandoned house with big columns and picket fence approx. 1.7 miles south??"

                   Dr. Richard Flournoy, Mount Pleasant, Texas

(Note: The house Dr. Flournoy mentions is the Allen House. It was used as Banks' headquarters for a brief time. The house was preserved from mining thanks to the efforts of the Calhoun family in Mansfield, owners of the property. We had been told work was in progress on the house so that it could be opened to the public for touring. However, work appears to have stopped at this point. We hope it will soon be available for your visits.)

"Enclosed is my personal check, contributing to the preservation of the Mansfield Battlefield. I had at least three direct ancestors and at least five corollary ancestors who fought in that battle in the Consolidated Crescent Regiment. Two direct ancestors were wounded, two corollary ancestors were wounded, and one corollary ancestor was killed. I only wish I could contribute more, but my retirement income stretches only so far." 

                                 Bobby F. Dowden, Princeton, Texas

"Keep up the outstanding work that your group is doing!"

                Keith Williford, descendant of a member of the 11th Texas Infantry.

Please log onto the Web site to see some of the photos of the events. Professional photographers from Arlington, Texas, were on site. You may view their photos at www.photoguys.net. They are selling photos and have assured us that 10% of the profits from their sales will go to the Friends.

FUNDRAISING EFORTS

We don't want to sound like a broken record, but we're ready to move more medallions and earn more money for preservation. If you are a member of a group interested in the Civil War, please consider taking our order form to your group meeting so we can expand our outreach and sales. We have paid the bills and everything from now on is clear profit. Maybe you would like to order some medallions as speaker gifts. Maybe you would like to order medallions as a group. If you send a large order to one address, we can give you a break on shipping.  And the best news is that $16 of every $20 goes directly to preservation and education.

We had hoped Civil War News would put a photo in their story on Mansfield. They tagged the medallions on the end of the story and did not handle it as a separate item, so it did not receive the national attention we had hoped for. We may need to take a small ad out in one of the national publications. If you have a local or regional publication that targets Civil War enthusiasts, please do what you can to push the medallion sales.

If you're new to our membership, the burnished bronze medallions are $20 each and come in a black velvet pouch with authenticity card. We're attaching the order form again. You can also find information and a photograph of the medallion on our Web site photo album under Mansfield State Historic Site. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the photo album.

We have dedicated a major portion of sales of the medallions to the Civil War Preservation Trust for purchase of land at the battlefield and a check for $1000 is being mailed this month.

Also, don't forget that the professional photographers from Arlington who photographed the 140th anniversary celebration have photos for sale. You can view their photos at http://www.photoguys.net/. They are donating 10% of the profits from their sales to the Friends.

TIME TO RENEW?

Has it been a year since you first joined? We are now coming up on renewal time. With all the extra work from the medallions and educational activities, we have not sent out renewals. If you need to renew, please send your next year's membership now. Then we won't have to mail a renewal to you. That will help save money and time.

HONOR ROLL

A special thanks to those 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
Bobby F. Dowden,  Princeton TX
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

NOTE: Our membership form is not running this month so we can include the Medallion Order Form. The membership form is available on the Web site at all times.

EMAILERS????:  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.  If you've changed email addresses, let us know that too.