Political Quotes

“Madam President I am pleased to introduce legislation, along with my colleague, Senator Allen, to create the Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation National Historical Park. This legislation builds on an effort that I have been involved with for over a decade. In 1991, the Congress authorized the National Park Service to conduct an assessment of the historical integrity of significant Civil War battlefields in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. That examination identified 10 Civil War battlefields in eight counties in the Valley that remained significantly as they were during the war. The Valley itself was a location of constant engagements throughout the War with more than 325 armed conflicts. The 10 battlefields that are today preserved under the Shenandoah Valley National Battlefields Management Plan include the places of Stonewall Jackson's 1862 campaign, and later Union General Philip Sheridan's 1864 campaign which left the Valley in ruins. This legislation is the product of many months of discussions with affected individual property owners with the battlefield boundary, our partner non-profit organizations who today preserve Belle Grove Plantation and surrounding lands within the battlefield, local governments and many interested citizens. I am pleased to present to the Senate their strong support for this legislation.”