James M. Jeffords: “I am proud to say that there is in this land a great wellspring of caring for the places where freedom was won and…”

“I am proud to say that there is in this land a great wellspring of caring for the places where freedom was won and defended. Millions of Americans have, in recent years, become aware of the hallowed ground of our Civil War battlefields, have visited them, read of them, many have written of them. The clear and eloquent message I hear is that these treasured places should be saved, intact, for future generations. The preservation message goes forth from Gettysburg, Antietam, Manassas, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Petersburg, Stones River, and dozens more Civil War places. It is heard from the banks of the Mississippi to the Atlantic Coast, from Mobile to the Monocacy. When battlefields become severely threatened, such as has happened at Brandy Station and Manassas, there quickly develops a continuity of Americans that spreads nationwide. The American people care about their history, look on these places as national treasures, and speak eloquently and effectively for their preservation.”